Come join us at our upcoming Preparedness Pro Training Events!  Whether you join us at one of our live events or online at a Webinar, our classes will make you think of preparedness in a whole new light.

We have a whole slew of new Webinars!  Our Enough and to Spare Course is now online!  There are no more reasons to miss out on events–join us today!

March 17th: “Unlock the Mystery of Pressure Cooking” at Tuft Bosch Kitchen Center in South Jordan, UT.  Wednesday from 6:00 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. at 1684 West Towne Center Drive F-2, South Jordan, Call 801-788-4133 to register.

March 18th: “Solar Oven Success” from 7:00-8:30 p.m. at Home Storage Basics located at 356 N 750 W, American Fork, UT. Call (801) 756-7600 to register.

March 20th^{: “}Solar Oven Success”© WEBINAR! Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. MST Registration is $7.00 Click here to register.

March 22nd: “The Wonderful World of Wheat”© WEBINAR! Monday, 7:00 p.m. MST Registration is $7.00 Click here to register.

March 24th: “Financial Velocity” WEBINAR! Wednesday, from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. Click here to register.  Registration is only $7.00.

March 25th: “UNDERwhelmed in Food Storage” at Shirley J’s in Orem, UT.  Thursday from 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. at 15 East 400 South, Orem, UT.  Call (801) 788-4133 to register.

March 26th: “Lights Out, Now What?” from 7:00-8:30 p.m. at Home Storage Basics located at 356 N 750 W, American Fork, UT. Call (801) 756-7600 to register.

For full details and to see a complete list of the upcoming Preparedness Pro preparedness training events, visit our Event Schedule here.

by Kellene Bishop

Safety in a carjacking situation photo c/o www.womenofcaliber.com

Recently there was a rare occurrence of a car jacking in the State of Utah.  In the name of everyday preparedness I thought I’d address this crime, which is actually rampant elsewhere in the nation and thus should be properly addressed to ensure maximum safety of you and your family.  The good news though is that there are several simple ways you can protect yourself from being a carjacking statistic.

1^st: Your safety boils down to being aware.  You can’t afford to be oblivious. If someone is approaching your car, you need to notice them ahead of time. Make use of your rearview and side mirrors when you are stopped at a light or getting in and out of your car in a parking lot.  It’s important that you pay attention to the cars which are parked near you too. Is there someone in the car?  Is there anything amiss in YOUR car as you’re getting in it again?

2^nd: Never stop at a traffic light or stop sign directly behind another car. While learning to drive in the crazy area of Connecticut, tailgating was virtually a must. But at a stop light or stop sign or even in the midst of a traffic jam, it’s a recipe for disaster.  You should always be able to see at least the bumper and the rear wheels of the car in front of you in order to have the ideal safety. At the risk of sounding paranoid, I always give myself an “escape route” when I’m stopped at a light or caught in traffic, even on the freeway.  If someone is coming towards my car, the first thing you should do is ensure your doors are locked, your car is in gear, and have your foot on the gas. If you have any doubt as to the intentions of the approaching person, step on the gas and have somewhere to go.

3^rd: Keep your purse and your defense weapon nearby—whether that is an Asp, red-dyed pepper spray, or my defense of choice—a firearm.   In the truck, I have a firearm just under the dash in a holster that I can easily and discreetly grab if I am held up at gun point.  Under many circumstances I also have a gun on my person in the event I’m grabbed just prior to getting into the car or getting out of it. The truth be told, a firearm on the person of a competent individual is the safest and the most effective place it can be.

4^th: Always park your vehicle in a well lit area.  When I’m in a parking lot, I don’t necessarily look for a spot closest to the door. I look for a spot that’s well lit, first and foremost. Worst case scenario, use a bright flashlight attachment on your key ring as well.

5^th: Look around before you get in your car and before you get out of your car. Your errands are never so important that you don’t have three seconds to evaluate your surroundings.  I always look in my rearview mirror and in my two side mirrors before I exit my car.  And I always look around me as I walk to my car as well. Even if I’m only taking out 2 light grocery bags, I still use the shopping cart in order that my hands are “free” to pull my gun if necessary (or your Asp, pepper spray, mace, or panic button).

6^th: Always have your cell phone handy. You should have 9-1-1 on a one button speed dial on your phone.  Don’t rely on your fine motor skills to dial in the midst of an emergency—even if you think it’s only 3 numbers.  Also, make your vocal concerns well heard by everyone around you. Screaming can easily be misconstrued in today’s society. So use words instead.  “Get away from my car.  Help, he’s beating me!”—even if such is not the case. These words are perfectly permissible even if you are under threat of such.

Make sure to keep your doors locked at all times photo c/o 4.bp.blogspot.com

Lastly, be sure you lock your doors as soon as you get in the car and that YOU control when your doors are unlocked when you park the car. Don’t have your car’s automatic settings to unlock the doors when you put the car in park. There are many criminals that are familiar with this feature and will use it to their advantage. They will also use the innocence of children in the back seat who may eagerly open their own car door to their advantage as well. Program your locks so that the kids get out only after you’ve given the all clear.  And be sure that your children get into the car under your watchful eye before you reenter the vehicle.

A little awareness goes a long ways, folks. In fact, just approaching your car with more awareness will be obvious to a perpetrator and thus you are less likely to be the victim of a crime.  Perpetrators are lazy.  They go for the easy strike. Make sure you don’t portray yourself as “easy” and you’ve one half of the real-life battle that plagues over 2,700 persons per day.

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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.

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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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

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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by Kellene Bishop

Panic situations, as the brain interprets them, assault us regularly.  When I say “panic” I don’t necessarily mean being attacked in a crime. It could be a matter of having 3 different choices thrown at you all at the same time. You stop. Feel a bit panicky and wait while your brain makes a decision.

Panic can make your brain freeze photo c/o philadelphia-reflections.com

The other day I was at the grocery store.  As I was taking off my seat belt I saw an elderly man just outside of the store crumble and fall to the pavement.  I swear it happened in slow motion (more on that phenomenon at a later date).  I am sure that I stopped for a second. I absolutely cringe at the site of people falling. It looks so awful and painful. Anyway, a millisecond later my brain kicked in. Without even thinking, I grabbed my purse, swooped out of the door, locked my car, and ran over to the man to help him before anyone else had noticed.  This is a feat when you consider that I’m overweight and out of shape.  As I was running up to the man I passed by an athletic young man and an older, robust man who were both substantially closer to the elderly gentleman that I was. Fortunately, the man wasn’t seriously injured, although I’m sure he’ll have bruising later. He simply had tripped on an elevated portion of cement. By the time I helped him up the other two men that I had passed came up to see what they could do to help as well.

Training helps you respond to situations quickly so you can be of assistance. photo c/o www.acsos.co.uk

So, what was the difference between me and the two men who were closer to the elderly gentleman? I assure you it wasn’t my physical agility—probably doesn’t exist. And I assure you it wasn’t the size of my heart. Both men expressed a sincere concern for this elderly gentleman. The difference was how my brain is trained to respond to scenarios of assistance versus other people in these kinds of scenarios.  I’m not super woman by any stretch of the imagination. This scenario doesn’t qualify on the same level as my house being on fire, a gun being held to my face, or a car accident.  But it still did require mental input and a response. My brain simply had run through this kind of scenario more often and more intently than the other two men. As a result, I had a faster response time as well as an accurate one.  I asked the man multiple questions before trying to lift him to make sure that lifting was appropriate. Whereas the other two men simply asked “are you all right?”  In hindsight, I’ve hopefully trained my brain to walk the man to his car or to give him a ride to wherever he needed to go if this kind of scenario were to happen again. The other interesting aspect to this response is that even though I could have cared less at that moment whether or not I had my purse or that my car was locked, I still ended up locking the car and had my purse in tow.  Why? Because I’ve trained my brain time and time again to perform that physical response to getting out of the car.  It’s the same thing when my husband gets into my car instead of his truck.  His hand automatically goes to a non-existent steering wheel shift instead of the one in my car which is down on his right side. 

Ok. Hopefully it’s a bit obvious as to why I’m sharing all of this with you.  When your brain responds to something it only has two issues. To respond with actual knowledge—which is then called SKILL; or to respond with a default response—which is usually freezing and then fraternizing. You literally freeze while your brain is computing what in the world to do with the scenario. It will then pull the context which best fits your scenario. If you haven’t provided your brain with any PHYSICAL practice accompanied by purposeful visualization, then you will freeze, and then look to fraternize with other people looking for input for your brain, instead of acting appropriately.  Those freezing and fraternizing moments can cost you and those around you a great deal—even your life. 

Make sure your training includes maintaining your weapon! photo c/o legacy.signonsandiego.com

Here’s an example of the wrong response your brain can provide you with as a result of the improper input you give it.  In Lt. Col. Dave Grossman’s book “On Killing” he discusses what an impact training your brain can be. He also shares a story that enlightens us as to the consequences of training your brain incorrectly. He shares a story of how a police officer was trained how to take a firearm away from a perpetrator. This successful process was drilled into this man’s brain again and again. He would take the firearm away from his sparring partner successfully, then hand it back to the partner so that they could to the practice exercise again. Unfortunately, when the time came for the police officer to actually take a gun away from a perpetrator, he instinctively did so and then gave the gun back to the perpetrator just as he had practiced!

How we respond to any scenario, whether it’s our kids yelling and screaming, the sound of the fire alarm in a building that causes you simply to roll your eyes and stay put, or how you mindlessly type in your password into your computer—is determined by the information your brain already possesses.  When a scenario hits you, your entire body allocates energy to the brain so that it can solve the problem and determine a response.  Notice I did not say a “proper response.” I said a “response” period.  I’ll say it again. How your brain determines a response is based upon the previous input you’ve provided it. If someone sneezes and you find yourself mindlessly saying “God bless you” that is as a result of previous input your brain has formulated.  When you hear mouth noises and it bugs the living cells out of you, it’s because you were raised at a strict dinner table where such chomping, snapping and smacking were not allowed. (Yes, I am very intolerant in this regard. I simply cannot stand it any more than I can tolerate someone not taking their hat off in a church or someone not placing their right hand over their heart during the pledge of allegiance). It bugs my entire being primarily because of the input my brain has previously received. As another somewhat deviating example, I kept praying during a large church meeting the other day that a gal would stop smacking her gum behind me so that I could get more out of the message on “charity.”  I guess I wasn’t feeling very charitable in being forced to listen to her cow chomping. So it’s no surprise to me that two days later I asked a woman out loud in the movie theater to stop smacking her gum. Previous brain input. That’s what determines our responses. Our body essentially freezes while we calculate and decide how to respond. Your brain searches for memories so that it can create a context that best fits the situation you’re confronted with.  

Are you prepared mentally to face moments that need quick decisions? photo c/o rfs.nsw.gov.au

So, what I’m trying desperately to get us all to think about is appropriately programming our minds to handle as many scenarios as possible. When I was just 8 years old, a small fire broke out in our kitchen stove. I didn’t know how serious it was at the time. All I knew is that my mother had repeatedly told me that if there was ever a fire in our home that it was my job to get the kids outside. As soon as I saw that fire in the stove, I immediately hustled my brother and sister outside and stayed there until we got the “all clear” from the adults.  I will never forget the amount of praise my mother showered on me, telling me that I had done a good job. She didn’t say it was just a little bitty fire and not to worry. They didn’t need to call the fire department. It was put out in less than a minute. But my brain responded simply to the only training Mom had previously given me.

The good news is that our brains are such amazing, miraculous tools, that there is not a single serious scenario you cannot train your mind to safely and appropriately respond to.  Instead of jerking the steering wheel and slamming on the brakes, we can actually train ourselves to respond quickly to our car being tossed out of control. Instead of jumping under a table during an earthquake, we can train ourselves to immediately crouch next to a large bed or table. And instead of screaming and panicking when someone tries to attack us, we can train ourselves to appropriately and soundly defend ourselves. We can train ourselves to immediately provide our brain with oxygen and then act.  All it takes is deliberate, accurate, and fully concluded practice. So, yes, run those fire drills with your family.  Practice changing a tire.  Practice responding to a startled state with a, deliberate, defensive, forward response instead of a backwards one. While you may never in your wildest dreams be able to anticipate being attacked by a pelican during a live news broadcast, I’m sure you’re brain will come up with the next best solution if you’ve prepared it sufficiently. Literally, the success is all in your head.

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Copyright 2010 Preparedness Pro & Kellene Bishop.  All rights reserved.  You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to www.PreparednessPro.com & Kellene Bishop

by Kellene Bishop

Fear? Stress? Breathe. photo c/o clanmonroe.com

Fact: Most people, when exposed to a threatening, frightful scenario, will inhale and then hold it.

Have you ever heard some sudden disturbing news?  What do you hear next? Inward gasps, right? 

Take target shooting for example. As a firearm instructor, you can imagine that I’m quite familiar with what a person does with their body when they are getting ready to shoot their firearm. They inhale, tense up their entire body, and then pull the trigger.  As a result, they are missing their shot. A good bow hunter will tell you that you don’t want the bow to be too taut, right? In contrast, what I teach people is that when they bring the firearm up and in focus, they need to breathe in, and when they are ready to shoot they need to breathe out and THEN roll the finger on the trigger—not jerk or pull it. It’s amazing how much better folks shoot when they breathe.

Let all of your air OUT before pulling the trigger. photo c/o tampabay.com

When all of your muscles have been used to breathe in, the muscles are taut. Taut muscles fight with the mind against and our muscles, thus affecting our aim and our physical responses. When you breathe out the muscles are relaxed and you have no muscles fighting your aim.  Every good shooter knows the value of breathing as much as every good chef knows the value of quality knives.

Many police officers nationwide are taught a specific breathing technique for when they are involved in an emotionally climatic scenario.  The use of such a technique has saved countless lives and prevented double the amount of injuries.

When you watch a martial arts expert break through bricks or wood, you will notice that they breathe out first.  This actually gives them the maximum amount of strength and proper aim.

The delivery of oxygen to the brain reduces response time in a fight or flight scenario photo c/o spacesuityoga.wordpress.com

The lack of breathing temporarily suspends many needed brain cells.  However, the delivery of oxygen to the brain relaxes and energizes the brain cells—especially those that would normally cause us to freeze or flee—even if that may not be the safest response to a crisis.

As I will discuss in greater detail tomorrow, your brain actually defaults to the subconscious operation. Unfortunately, if the subconscious hasn’t had a great deal of repetitive training to deal with this particular encounter, it will default to some very unproductive, and even dangerous responses.

For example, if you’ve been educated in the U.S. you’ve no doubt had to experience the earthquake drill of crouching under a desk. As a result, if you feel any shaking going on around you, your subconscious will tell you to hurry and get under a table or into an entry way during an earthquake. Why? Because this is the only training that your subconscious mind has to work with. However, I’m going to tell you that that is the WORST thing you should do in the event of an earthquake.  You are more likely to be crushed under a piece of furniture or a fallen entry way. Instead you should crouch just to the side of a heavy table or your bed.  It is there where you are more likely to find a space that is not affected by falling roofs, etc. You will also more likely have access to oxygen (To give yourself a better picture of this, notice where you dog goes when they crawl under the covers with you. They have space just to the side of your body).

Contrary to popular training, hiding under a table isn't the safest option during an earthquake photo c/o time.com

Ok. Now that I’ve told you this, even if you wholeheartedly believe it, you will need to access this knowledge when the shaking begins.  However, because you will inevitably breathe in and panic, you will dramatically slow your brain’s response time. So, what do you need to do? You need to teach yourself to breathe.  Ideally, you will breathe in four counts, hold it four counts (in order to get the oxygen permeated through the brain cells), and then breathe out four counts. Just that one breathing process is what your brain needs to disengage the automatic response and engage the logical, more desired response. The breathing connects your conscious mind and overrides the subconscious that may be taking over.

This is the first step at handling panic. Tomorrow I will share with you the next one. Until then, breathe in four counts, hold it; and then breathe out four counts. Nice and slow. Do it again when your child comes home with a poor report card or when you burn dinner or even when your computer crashes.

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Copyright 2010 Preparedness Pro & Kellene Bishop.  All rights reserved.  You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to www.PreparednessPro.com & Kellene Bishop

by Kellene Bishop

Preparedness should have nothing to do with panic, dread, gloom, or doom photo c/o dalitdiscussions.wordpress.com

As I shared in yesterday’s article, our preparedness articles should have nothing to do with panic, dread, gloom, or doom.  Even though some may consider the Book of Revelations a bit “dark” it’s actually not if you read it in its full context. While it does outline what is going to happen it’s also emphatic in reminding the reader that this is what’s going to happen, but you can still avoid the anguish and desperation by being prepared and trusting in the Lord.  Knowing this aspect about preparedness is why I have a huge problem with “emergency preparedness” companies that manipulate and take advantage of people’s misunderstanding of what preparedness is.  These companies literally prey on the lack of knowledge and preparedness and confidence in what they sell.

For example, I got my mailer from a local “emergency preparedness” company this weekend, and yes, they do use the name “emergency” in their marketing. I perused through it and was simply disgusted—as usual.  They are offering a “year supply of food” for a “special price” of $649.99.  To be clear, this is NOT a year’s supply of food, at least not in my house. While yes, my home is full of freeze-dried goods, I do not enjoying living off of many of the products which are contained in this so called “years supply.”  And frankly, I know that none of you do either. This isn’t a year’s supply of food. It’s a year supply of suffering. What are these kinds of companies going to sell next, powdered water?!

On yet another page they have a hand-cranked grain mill for “only $64.95.” In the description it states “a simple way to convert your stored grains into wholesome flour or cracked wheat cereal.”  Ok, Folks. I’ve operated this hand crank and there is nothing simple about it. Sure you just load and crank, but do you think anyone would buy this if it said “A difficult way to crank out your whole grains and make them more edible. Cranking only two cups of flour burns the equivalent of a half day’s worth of calories on a regular American diet.”  The same holds true of the “Wonder Clean Washer” which you operate by hand and which barely holds an entire outfit of clothes. I get just as grumpy when I see their so-called “comprehensive emergency kits.” Excuse me while you bleed to death. I have all of this stuff but dont” know what to do with it.”  They advertise freeze-dried items as “entrees” which are barely enough calories for one meal for one person. I nearly have a coronary when I see the page that says “Gourmet Year Supply” for one person “only $3,649.95”!!!

Now THIS is what I call cooking from a preparedness pantry!

Let’s compare for just a moment. I have nice, tender, juicy chicken meat in my basement—an entire pound per jar—for which I paid 98 cents for.  I also have some freeze-dried mixed vegetables which cost me about $1 per casserole dish that I make. And then I have some Bisquick and some Shirley J Universal Sauce that I can mix up to go with this dish at a cost of about .43 cents total (with this month’s special group buy pricing, I can get it even cheaper than that!). When I’m done whipping this dish up, I’ve spent a total of $2.41 and it’s SO yummy—not just tolerable.  The same can be said of my Coq aux Vin, my Pork Green Chile Carnitas, my super sourdough pizza with all of the fixings, and my truly Gourmet Macaroni and Cheese that has horseradish and freeze-dried cauliflower in it. It costs $3.70 each week to make two beautiful loaves of bread (in my solar oven, even!) one pizza with all of the toppings, and one batch of cinnamon rolls! To boot, I can do it all in less than an hour without breaking a sweat! 

The other day I was asked by one of my class attendees what I thought about buying “mixes” or taking the time to pre-make them and then storing them.  In my typical blunt fashion I told her that I thought they were ridiculous if you already have everything handy to make what you need.  Sure, I can see buying sourdough bread mixes, for example, because I don’t want to take the time to find or create a starter. And sure, I like my Shirley J Universal Sauce because I can use it instead of my butter, milk, and cheese sources.  But if a mix is simply a “white bread mix” or “cookie dough mix” in a bag, I’m not going to stock up on those items for any other reason than to provide a bit of physical respite should I become ill or disabled.  Otherwise, how hard is it to measure some flour, oil, yeast, salt, sugar and water?  I really think that some people work awfully hard and spend a lot of energy in the name of making their life easier.

Who can afford "emergency food" at these prices? photo c/o scrapetv.com

In spite of all of this, I see this business and many others like it thrive. They are thriving on ignorance, apathy, and laziness—the very same attributes which will destroy a community over the course of a few years of every day living, and in a matter of minutes in the event of a disaster. I feel ashamed that these kinds of companies are competing against panic rather than product convenience, quality and nutrition. So the uglier the picture of the anorexic, desperate child is, the more products they sell. Businesses like these make me fume because it’s no wonder more people don’t get prepared! With a price tags like this and miserable amounts of work involved to get the gadgets to work, who in their right mind wants to “be prepared?”

Don’t let the prospect of panic alter your sound, logical knowledge. There will inevitably be events in your life that will force you to change your everyday habits, but for the most part, we all have a lot more control over how we react to our financial and our food and water scenarios than businesses like this give us credit for.  The difference between you paying three grand for a years’ supply of food, and paying less than 4 bucks for three meals for a family with lots of leftovers is knowledge—pure and simple. Knowledge gives you just as long of a shelf life, better taste, more security in knowing that the food was prepared safely, and more money in your pocket.  Storing up your preparedness pantry in this manner allows you to purchase the really important things in life such as a solar oven, pressure cooker, or reinforcing the roof on your home, etc.

In closing I just want to say that I find it ironic that resisting the urge to splurge on unrealistic foods and gadgets in the name of a panic-induced emergency preparedness is critical for us to truly be prepared. We’ll be more sound financially, have more confidence in using what we’ve got because we use it everyday already, and we won’t be quite as stressed if we ever have to see our years supply of bogus, yet highly expensive, “gourmet foods” get sucked up in the mouth of an earthquake.

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Copyright 2010 Preparedness Pro & Kellene Bishop.  All rights reserved.  You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to www.PreparednessPro.com & Kellene Bishop

by Kellene Bishop

What? The Preparedness Pro is wrong? photo c/o www.smh.com.

“Oh my. What was she wrong about?  Was it how she preserves eggs with mineral oil and without refrigeration?  Was it how she dares to store water on the concrete in her basement? Ooh. Maybe it’s that she uses Diatomaceous Earth in her whole grains.”  Nope. I’m 100% confident that I’m correct in all of those teachings.  However, I have been wrong about a critical aspect of preparedness in the past, and I’d like to correct it today.

I’ve been teaching preparedness classes for a little over 10 years. But I’ve been teaching it WRONG for most of that time. As I look back on what I used to teach and compare it to what I know now, I cringe at the dramatic difference.  I wish I had known this one important lesson back when I first started teaching so that I could have taught it properly all this time.  Instead, I too have had to learn the lesson over time. But doing so has made my world of preparedness much more realistic, applicable, simple, and peaceful. And so today I hope that I can effectively share with you this one lesson as well, in hopes that you too can have the same results.

I’m convinced we would all do significantly better in our preparedness results if we stopped looking at is a “emergency” preparedness and instead looked at it as having greater independence and freedom everyday. We would also do more to help others embrace any level of preparedness if we stopped referring to our preparedness efforts as “emergency preparedness.”

Panic and fear could be replaced by peace due to preparation photo c/o healthcare.zdnet.com

Reason #1:

Preparing for an “emergency” is simply too far-fetched for most people to comprehend. There’s a reason for that. It’s the natural defense systems that our brain automatically provides us.  The first stage of the mental process in the midst of a disaster is “denial.” That’s why so many persons stayed put in the WTC towers on 9/11—some did so even though they had already endured the bombing attack in 1993! Their brain simply refused to admit that a terrorist attack could happen twice!  What I’m saying is that you will always encounter a rational person’s brain denying the possibility that a “disaster” could even occur.  And unless you get them to embrace the possibility for a disaster, then they will NEVER embrace any actions designed to prepare against an “emergency.”  It’s not the delivery mechanism of the information that hinders preparedness efforts. It’s the brain’s natural responses.

Reason #2:

Preparing for an “emergency” is pre-planned panic. Everyone knows that where there’s an emergency, there’s great suffering, stress, and devastation. Who in their right mind wants to plan on encountering that? If you personally do not suffer in this manner, you still will be a witness to other’s suffering. Such a sight will then cause stress and panic in even the most well prepared person.  Trying to talk your mind into pre-planning for a disaster is simply not realistic.  Yes, there are a great number of folks who are better mentally prepared for a disaster than others. But I assure you; they did not open up some overhyped emergency preparedness catalog in the mail and simply decide to be prepared for World War III. Disaster preparedness is a compartmentalized part of preparedness.  It comes with mental conditioning one step at a time.  You are no more likely to be prepared for a disaster overnight than you are able to go from 100 pounds overweight to having a six-pack of abs the next day. 

Reason #3:

Mental Preparedness is imperative in handling emergency situations photo c/o www.katrinahelp.com

Preparedness occurs one day at a time. We have to learn to be prepared for TODAY before we can hope to be prepared for something more serious.  The good news is that being prepared to encounter the changes and challenges that come into your life daily is EXACTLY what you need to be prepared for the potential catastrophic events. Anything less than this would be in violation of natural and eternal laws.  We simply cannot violate them. Trying to do so will only manifest ignorance and stupidity in the midst of a true disaster. Its people who don’t understand this natural process who grow up to be an EMT and tell someone that “an EMP is not life threatening.” In my opinion, this is why FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security are so messed up and ineffective. These entities are run by people who have absolutely NO idea or belief in being prepared on an everyday basis, and yet they are attempting to prevent suffering on a catastrophic level.  Now that’s what I call a disaster and I believe it’s EXACTLY why these entities have been inept in aiding victims of disaster time and time again. Hurricane Katrina is a perfect example. It wasn’t’ FEMA that helped people or government officials.  In fact, New Orleans Mayor Nagin delayed issuing evacuation orders sooner because he was too busy checking on the legal liability that such orders would expose him to. His brain wasn’t trained to handle disasters. His brain was only prepared to administer and manage.  Instead, it was the better mentally prepared individuals, The National Guard, who began rescuing hundreds of people from Hurricane Katrina before a single order was given to them. Kind of an obvious contrast, eh? Their minds are actually trained to think in terms of disasters and catastrophes. No one had to tell them what to do. They knew what to do thanks to years of everyday mental preparation.

You simply cannot prepare for a disaster without having the foundation for daily preparedness. While some of us may quickly progress mentally from one aspect to the other, in order for us to be sane, effective, and credible in our large scale preparedness efforts, we must be successful in our everyday ones. What we are and who we are everyday will only be magnified under the fire of a serious disaster. If we fall apart mentally because we get caught in traffic on our way to an important job interview, we will be even more useless to those around us in the midst of a serious, life or death event. We won’t be able to fool anyone as to our “hoped-for strengths.” They will crumble in light of the Refiner’s Fire. We will not be able to suddenly overcome our weaknesses or infirmities simply because our heart intends to help others.  Our intentions will only be a mask to our true mental fortitude, and an unconvincing one at that.  All of our weaknesses—spiritual, mental, temporal– will be blatantly obvious when held up to the demands of a large-scale crisis.

Reason #4:

Preparedness Pantry

Preparedness simply isn’t about disaster management at its heart. It’s about independence, self-reliance, and freedom–everyday. That’s how we have to learn it, and that’s how it should be taught.  This is why I hate the phrase “food storage” for example. The term food storage is attached to the days of the Depression disaster, the days of famine during Joseph’s reign in Egypt, and other unpleasant thoughts. Whereas a pantry which can sustain myself and my loved ones for several decades—that’s not about doom and gloom. It’s about peace of mind knowing that I control my grocery bill, not Wall Street or any Administration. It’s about convenience. It’s about comfort. This is how all of our daily preparedness efforts should be perceived. It’s healthy. It’s realistic. It’s TRUTH.  Our brain is much more accepting of truth than it is of disasters. I firmly believe that there are no victims in life. There are only volunteers. The day I’m inconvenienced in my pursuit of freedom, peace, and self-reliance is the day in which I choose to be a victim, at the mercy of whatever life throws at me, bowing in submission and futility. I don’t know about you, but futility, submission, victim…none of those words describe me very accurately. If we choose to ignore the countless cases in support of independence from vulnerabilities in our food, nutrition, quality of life, water, medical care, our finances, and so much else, then we choose to be victims.  On the other hand, we are completely free now, every day, to counteract those vulnerabilities and stand independent and free from the manipulations of nature and mankind which are rampant around us. Acting on those freedoms now will ensure that we are fully prepared for more serious events in the future. And that, my friends, is what preparedness is really about.

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If you would like to host a preparedness party for your business, community, or church group, please contact Vicky at vicky@preparednesspro.com 

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

Copyright 2010 Preparedness Pro & Kellene Bishop.  All rights reserved.  You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to www.PreparednessPro.com & Kellene Bishop