By Kellene Bishop

The pharmaceutical industry has long practiced singling out one particular component of a plant in order for them to duplicate it chemically and then qualify for a patent. Regardless of how perfectly the chemical component matches the original portion, it still is sorely lacking in one of the most important factors of the original effective compound—the synergistic effect that the other portions of the plant have which makes up the whole.  It’s no different than someone taking the cello out of the symphony and trying to pass it off as a full symphony by itself. A piece of lettuce isn’t a salad and an orphaned child isn’t a family.  While beans and rice each on their own can taste wonderful, the combined effect of the two of them together comprise a perfect protein for our bodies.  This principle is also true when you look at the effect which botanicals have in impacting our health and well-being. The part is more effective when joined with its counterparts.

When you combine one or more pure essential oils together, you can rely on a blend that is more effective than if those oils had been used separately. Even more importantly, I would recommend that you only use an oil blend that was put together professionally because the order in which the oils are added as well as the amount is critical.  It takes a long, long time to become educated and an expert in this aspect of essential oil use.  The frequencies of each oil act separately as well as in a symphonic manner. As such, a single drop of a blended oil with 8 different oils making it up, it will work much better than 8 drops of 8 different oils. That’s synergy for ya! For example, chamomile essential oil has an anti-inflammatory property. But this particular property is powerfully increased when lavender is appropriately used in concert with it. The interaction between these two oils creates a noticeably stronger impact on the targeted ailment.

It’s helpful to understand that essential oils all consist of a frequency.  Well, frequencies each have a “pitch” like a note. In the case of essential oils, each note determines the rate that the essential oil will be evaporated.  This makes sense to most music majors. Just like some notes can penetrate and thus break glass, some essential oil notes permeate organs, other frequencies, It’s also important to note that there is no such thing as an essential oil that works only on the body or only on the emotions of a person. All oils possess a frequency which affects both the body and the heart.  Just like the smell of Pepto-Bismal gives each person an emotional reaction, as well as a physical one, so do essential oils.

Higher notes/frequencies work most effectively on the mental aspects which plague us.  Middle notes/frequencies work effectively on emotions, digestion, respiration, and metabolism before they evaporate. Whereas the deeper notes are more effective in working with other aspects of the body, deeper tissues, and grounding our mental energies to create stronger focus, concentration, etc. because they take longer to evaporate. This is also true because when you really come right down to it, no physical ailment stands alone without any emotional ramification as well. It’s still too complicated to determine which comes first in an ailment—the emotion or the physical detriment—but science has proven that that they simply cannot be mutually exclusive of each other. Along that vein, understand that you may be able to identify an effective essential oil by lining it up with your emotional challenges first and foremost. This isn’t necessary, but in some cases people are at a loss as to what their physical ailment really is, but usually are able to identify the emotional challenges they are experiencing. Chances are very good that if you tackle the appropriate emotional ailment, you’ll also conquer the physical dis-ease.

Most of you are aware that Vitamin E is good for you. But you also know that it’s an oil. As an oil, it can easily go rancid when exposed to oxygen and thus become a toxic poison to your body if consumed. You may also know that each kernel of wheat contains vitamin E. It’s actually the E vitamin the preserves the wheat for so very, very long. But if the wheat kernel is cracked, the E becomes a liability as it gets exposed to air.  It then goes rancid and ruins the wheat.  I share this with you because one of the other benefits of using blended essential oils it that it mitigates any “side effects” the some people believe they have experienced in using a particular essential oils.  For example, some folks have a hard time incorporating straight clary sage into their body’s health needs. However, when clary sage is in a essential oil blend, then the other oils help to mitigate the harsh effect of straight clary sage so that we can instead receive the benefit from it. In other words, blended oils give us so many more possibilities of healing as well as greater ability as opposed to the use of single oils. Blended oils are much more effective for children, pregnant women, the elderly, or folks who have serious sensitivities.  When blending is performed correctly, everyone can take advantage of the benefits without any nasty side effects. If you’ve ever had a less than desirable experience with an essential oil, I suspect that it’s because a single oil was used, or an incorrectly blended concoction.

Essential oils can be utilized in a single form wonderfully to promote healing. However, most users of essential oils find better results when a blend of oils is used, combining several pure oils in order to effectively promote healing at the core as well as the cause and subsequent symptoms. For example, a headache rarely just exists on its own.  It’s usually started because of a pinched nerve somewhere, dehydration, or some other illness within the body. Then, as a result of the headache, blurred vision, fatigue, and irritability accompany the symptoms. Obviously, it would be less effective to try and treat just the headache when it would be better if you could promote a body which inhibits the pinched nerves, the headaches, and the subsequent symptoms as well, right? That’s what blended oils are created to do—too work harmoniously on all of the culprits of dis-ease in the body and mind.  For example, a person who struggles with fibromyalgia has a litany of sub-problems as a result of the disease: depression, sleeplessness, physical pain, brain fog, and feelings of hopelessness.  Appropriate essential oil use would address the cause of the pain in fibromyalgia at the skeletal level as well as aid with the depression, sleep disorder and lack of focus.  In such an instance, I would recommend someone use a blend or blends which contain birch for the analgesic and cortisone effect, and is frequently used for muscle and bone pain. It has anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and anti-spasmodic properties. Likewise, I would also recommend that the blend has Helichrysum in it.  Helichrysum is one of the most sought after essential oils and is very expensive, but a person doesn’t need a lot of it in order to have an impact on their body.  It’s renowned for it’s skin and muscle relieving properties, blood cleansing, helps regulate cholesterol (which goes haywire when analgesics are regularly consumed) regenerates damaged tissue (which is a big deal when you have torn tissues and surgical adhesions) and helps heal colitis. See how we’re taking care of multiple areas of dis-ease here?  Additionally, I would want myrrh in my chosen blend which has been used successfully for thousands of years for a calming of the respiratory system, digestion, hypo-thyroid, mouth ulcers, wounds, and a feeling of being chilly. It’s also a proven anti-fungal, gland decongestant, aids sore throats, skin conditions, thrush, and hepatitis. Myrrh also has some properties which help brings emotions of relief—which would be ideal for someone battling chronic pain and fatigue.

Ok. I’m not going to go further. Hopefully you are getting my point. Bottom line, rather than investing in hundreds of single essential oils and trying to combine them yourself, I would rely on professionally blended oils and reap the benefits accordingly. Additionally, make sure that you’re purchasing 100% pure oils—pure, means pure unless you are the FDA. If you are not aware, let me remind you that the FDA allows labels to state that an essential oil is “pure” so long as it contains 10% of pure—in the true sense of the word—oil as a part of the blend. In other words, a company could sell a 10 ml bottle of “100% pure myrrh essential oil, so long as the bottle which is mostly filled with almond oil has at least 10% of pure myrrh. So always be cautious, read your labels, etc.

One last thing I would recommend is for everyone use at least one essential oil daily; it doesn’t matter which one you use for this purpose. Just use one daily! Each time you use a quality essential oil, you are improving your body’s frequency.  By improving your body’s frequency you’re improving your mood and your immune system. I can’t wait to hear of some of your experiences with essential oils. It’s opened a whole new world to me!!

If you’re interested in my opinion of where to purchase quality, affordable oils, continue reading.

For years I have been purchasing and using essential oils from some of the more popular multi-level marketing companies. It’s logical to understand that the cost of the oils must go up in such a scenario because each bottle sold has to do more than pay for the production of the product plus a profit.  Several other individuals have their hand in the kitty which necessitates the increase in price.  I’d much rather purchase my oils as direct to the manufacturer as possible. I figure that the fewer hands that touch it, then fewer hands compromise the integrity of the oil.  I’m happy to say that Five Star Preparedness has recently launched their selection of essential oil blends. I believe that they are the group buy for August as well.  I did some comparisons of their regular retail prices and those of other companies. Understanding that the Five Star oils are pure in the truest sense of the word, I couldn’t believe that the difference in price between theirs and other company’s was as much as 90% lower!! This means that I can have a true arsenal of essential oils and take my health and treatments more into my own hands rather than being subject solely to the medical community. To check into the group buy, go to www.fivestarpreparedness.com/groupbuy and just click on the Group Buy button.

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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

I may sound like a snob saying this, but to be frank, I don’t do fear.  Nope, I simply refuse to do it.  Any decision made out of fear is usually wrong or at the very least, incomplete. Why would I willingly want to knowingly make wrong decisions when I make perfectly innocent wrong decisions without the nasty toxin of fear added to the heap? Seriously. Fear is underrated. There’s a lot of validity in the saying “The only thing to fear is fear itself.” Bottom line, fear has no place in our lives. Every fear we have, we can conquer and counter with actions which smother it with peace.

Let’s be straightforward here. Fear does not come from a place good.  It’s as useful as a cheap plastic toy made in China. Fear—not greed, not pride, and not guilt—is the most dangerous emotion polluting mankind today. Fear clouds our mind. It demeans us into less than we really are.  It camouflages every scenario it touches so that the truth and the solution cannot be seen clearly.

Today I received an e-mail from a friend. It was written by a so-called expert on a forum site for folks who are interested in being prepared. Here’s the message displayed on the forum by the poster. It says:

“A comment before you read this short article.

There is a calm on [this site]right now..

It’s (sic) as though the sense of urgency has left us.

Perhaps it’s (sic) just the normal middle of summer, when we are all off busy doing the things we do. But there is a perceptible feeling of “calm”.

And yet.

Winter is coming.

All is not right.

Strange things are happening all around us.

There is a pause occurring.

It’s (sic) almost as though people are holding their breath on the roller coaster knowing that the next big drop is just about to happen.

I honestly think we are approaching the next precipice. Something significant is going to happen very soon now. Don’t be lulled into a false sense of security. The water in the kettle is just about to start boiling…

So, when I read this statement, I couldn’t help but utter aloud, “What a JYNORMOUS pile of horse crap!”

I’m just plain fed up with folks saying that the boogey man is coming. For crying out loud, the boogey man is already here, he has been here, and he will always be here. It’s called LIFE.  Will it get tougher? Yes; but not because of what will happen. Misery, desperation, and despair only come to those who are not prepared. The intensity of the pain and suffering we endure during our trials is solely contingent upon our level of preparation. Think about it. Do you really think that a multi-billionaire gets upset when he wastes a half gallon of milk?  No. Of course not.  His level of preparedness is such that such a trial wouldn’t make an impact on him. However, to a single mother of 5 kids, living on her disability checks, spilling the last half gallon of milk you’ve got until the next check comes could be a sorrowful moment. How much we suffer during the tougher events on the horizon is completely up to us!  We can be arrogant and obtuse and somehow believe we are more powerful than the law of gravity, or we can decide right now that we are going to minimize our misery by being prepared now! To be blunt, a prepared person does not need to worry about the “boiling water” or the “roller coaster” plunging downward.  Even better, a truly prepared person would never utter this fecal diatribe because they would not possess the nature to spew such gloom and doom with persons that they care about. That doesn’t mean that specific aspects of imminent trials should be ignored, not mentioned, and foolishly dismissed. But what it does mean is that we will not allow FEAR to motivate us.  Any action we make with fear as our fuel will be rife with disappointments and shortcomings. However, making the many decisions throughout our preparedness efforts from a place of peace, love for others, and a earnest desire to be our best selves in any situation is a perfect formula for success.

Sure, I’ve tried to keep folks up on the reality of things which are taking place. I too believe that there will be a serious financial collapse very soon and I also believe we will be accompanied by a food shortage as well. Even more so, I believe that all of that will occur prior to all of the prophecies in the Book of Revelations being realized. Yeah. The scenario won’t be pretty. But our environment of living, thriving, and loving does not need to be contaminated with fear. Understand that although the scriptures depict some pretty awful scenarios, such events are not shared with us so that we can be scared. Rather, it’s the exact opposite.  No one needs to fear what they have suitably anticipated. That’s why, I believe, that we have a glimpse into such scenarios. It’s His way of saying “this is going to happen, but don’t worry so long as you are prepared and follow me.” Where is the fear in that approach?  Conversely, I find nothing but beautiful promises in such passages to those who will put away their foolish ways and grow up and get prepared. I think to believe otherwise is to alienate ourselves from the Lord. There is no way, no how, that the Lord shares these things with us to make us FEAR. He’s all about love, patience, kindness, tenderness, and mercy. Granted, He has to live the laws of consequences just like we all have to. He wants to make it clear what playing for the other team will be like—because you can bet that team leader won’t be giving us the straight story.  But folks, if we want to stay sane and productive in the midst of all that is coming, FEAR is not the way to do it. Preparedness is.

Look at it this way. What’s the very, very worst that could happen?  You or your loved ones could die, right?  I suppose it could be worse if you died a particularly painful death, sure.  But seriously, I say big deal? Yup, I’m going to miss some wonderful folks.  And yes, the adjustment will be mournful for a bit.  But there IS a better life waiting for us all on the other side. I know that’s true. Don’t you? So, the so-called worst case scenario isn’t so bad after all.  But what would be bad is if any of us prematurely went to the other side knowing full well that we didn’t put up a good fight on this side to take care of ourselves and our fellow men. Perhaps we’d even be plagued by that torment of shortsightedness for a long time. That would be worse. Much worse.  So, let’s all take the best path here folks, get positive, get smart, and get prepared.

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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

You’ve not doubt heard the saying “Prepare for the worst, hope for the best.”  You could say that I live by this particular motto in my preparedness efforts. However, today I’m going to discuss with you a topic that I have never seen addressed in a preparedness venue—preparing for THE worst.  What is the “the worst?”

More than 200,000 American women every year—in a time of relative calm, comfort, and civil order—are raped. Yet, in every crisis scenario which has EVER occurred in our nation’s history in the last 70 years—such as hurricanes, earthquakes, financial collapse, etc—the numbers of rape reports increase substantially amidst the darkness of tragedy.  So, my question for you today is, what are you doing now to PREPARE to defend against THE Worst in your everyday life as well as during a time of great struggle?

Rape is a disgusting and horrifying crime, and to most women, their greatest nightmare. The very thought of the word repulses most. According to FBI records, more than 90,000 attacks are reported every year in the U.S. That number pales in comparison to what’s really happening. The U.S. Department of Justice estimates that more than 300,000 women are forced to survive a rape each year.  But according to other studies, less than one in three women reports their real-life nightmare to police or other authorities. As such it is believed that one in five women in the U.S. today, under the age of 26 will be raped. I share this tidbit of information to you only for the purpose of getting you, my dear readers, to begin to comprehend the reality of this dark side of human tragedy because only when we understand the reality of this particular criminal event can we begin to prepare against it—in defense of it.

It pains me to even feel like I have to address this topic. But over the last 2 years I’ve had several conversations with women, their husbands, their children etc. which lead me to believe that there is an alarming amount of naïveté among good families who are trying their best to prepare for tougher times. Let’s get real here for just a moment, even if you don’t believe that this horrific event can happen to yourself or someone you love dearly right now, you must believe it is possible amidst a more challenging time.  Yes, desperation breeds horrors—horrors that most women never want to think about.  Do you recall the litany of nightmare stories which occurred during hurricane Katrina? The single location of the Louisiana Superdome became a carnival land for deranged and disconnected males, committing rape against women, elderly, and even children as young as 10 years of age.  Later, as refugees migrated to the Houston Astrodome, the same grotesque acts occurred, along with beatings, theft, and other acts in defiance of human decency.  Clearly, we don’t live in Disneyland, Folks, and it certainly will NOT get better during a crisis. It WILL get worse. So, what are you doing to prepare for it?

Ladies, we’ve got to stop assuming that someone else will be there to defend us against such an act.  For those of us who feel sufficiently connected to a knight in shining armor, understand that during a time of crisis that knight is likely to be off fighting known dragons elsewhere in the form of filling sand bags, foraging for food, being a sentinel to a larger perimeter.  Even the imaginative minds of cartoon crime fighters have never tried to create a super hero that could be in all places at all times, so why do so many of my female and MALE friends believe that they will “be there” to defend against such a horrific occasion? The possibility of your husband, boyfriend, father, or some other protector being present at “just the right time” when such an attack is thrust upon you is minimal even in today’s relative social climate.  It is much less likely in a strained social environment. As such, women (young and old) must educate themselves (mentally and physically) as to how to defend and PREVENT such instances. No nonsense mental and physical education such as that taught by Women of Caliber, is critical to your everyday survival.

Ladies, rape is not just a brutal sexual act that you bravely endure, nor is it just about the physical assault that usually goes hand in hand. If you are lucky enough to physically survive such an event you will find yourself fighting an even darker enemy in the subsequent months and years. Victims of rape also find themselves continually abused by the psychological aftermath. Many woman survive the physical assault only to have their quality of life destroyed because of the emotional damage. Worse, is when these same women are raped who also are raising children.  Insecurity, fear, anger, and even self-loathing are often the “after shocks” which destroy the virtuous legacy a mother desired to pass on to her children.  A mother’s projection of the pain she’s endured will inevitably affect her children if she doesn’t receive proper care following her attack.  And yet such care is not likely to exist in a time of great turmoil. So, me dear readers, we all have a choice to make. Will we prevent such an act from even coming into play in either ours or our loved one’s  life, or will we risk “just crossing that bridge when we come to it” or deny that it even exists?

Gentlemen,—particularly those who have an aversion towards tools of “excessive force” and protection—are you willing to risk that such an event will never happen to your wives, daughters, or other loved ones so that you can remain inside your comfort zone? Most men do not want to even consider that such an event would ever happen to the women they care about—let alone whether or not they will be capable of coming to the rescue. As a result, too many men are ill-prepared in their own preparedness efforts against this dark story of society. Sadly, some are even non-supportive of their wives’ efforts to take their own self-defense more seriously. I assure everyone who reads this that whatever comfort you have now by avoiding such a reality in your own immediate circle of relationships or more extended, will be insignificant the instant you painfully exclaim, “If only!”

The rampant criminal acts that took place during the Depression were not associated with obtaining food, money, or other vital need.  In an unsure world, deviant persons are likely to engage in ANY kind of an act which makes them feel like they are in control again.  This is why rape becomes so prevalent in a scenario of social tragedy. Ultimately, rape is about control.  This is why you hear of these same horrid acts in present-day Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Haiti, and S. Africa.  These nations are out of control.  Many of their mealtimes are full of nothing but desperation. Dark souls are being driven to establish some semblance of control into their lives.
Please understand that rape is not a crime of strangers.  Sixty-four percent of the time the woman is raped by a trusted companion! That’s a particularly dangerous problem because the ripple effect brutalizes them once again at close range. Compounding the problem is that the woman frequently has deep emotional feelings and even sincere love for the attacker so the crime is never reported, opting instead to give the perpetrator another chance, allowing the nightmare to continue. The survivor sits alone in silence, darkness, and fear…unless…

What if women, in particular, stopped relying on knights in shining armor to protect them from this heinous crime? What if, instead, women took their safety into their own hands by becoming fully informed and educated on how to recognize a looming rape occurrence and how to successfully thwart it?   A physical self-defense series.  A self-defense firearm training class.  All of these are ideal counter-measures to ensure that a woman never has to become a survivor and be left to simply dance to the present music that’s played for them.  If a rape is fought back with skill and a pre-conditioned mind, then the survivor will be able to much better cope with the incident, leaving it behind with a sense of conquering evil rather than being trampled in its path. The same is true of the men in our lives who genuinely care about us.  If they hold the tools and the knowledge to prevent and fight back against a rape, then their lives also have the real peace that’s necessary to survive a time of turmoil. And particularly in this case, there’s a lot to be said for Peace in Preparedness.

Lest anyone think that I’m simply agitating a problem without offering a solution, I am purposefully being incomplete in my assessment of solutions in this particular article. How a person elects to defend themselves is a very personal decision—one that must be made with conviction.  While I won’t attempt to be secretive that I believe firmly in the effectiveness and even the necessity of using a firearm to defend against such occasions, I cannot project that same belief on others. But what I can do is to demonstrate the reality of the need for serious preparedness and hopefully aid in the education that’s necessary to make an informed decision in this regard.  Too often I hear folks ignorantly believe that “protection” is only necessary for those who are not willing to share their goods and supplies. Today I’m sharing with you that that notion is a fallacy and I hope and pray that you will take this information today to heart—if not applicable for your own benefit, perhaps in your efforts to assist others in making this difficult but necessary decision. Ultimately I hope that I won’t conjure up nightmares for you, rather you find yourselves recipients of the peace that comes with proper, realistic preparedness.

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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

In my previous article about essential oils I addressed some of the scientific reasons why essential oils work on our body. Today I’m going to continue that bit of information and also address how best to use essential oils.

First of all, I think I should make it clear that essential oils are not oils at all.  They are simply the extraction of a cold expeller process (which IS commonly used for extracting oils.) But essential oils—if they are pure and haven’t been contaminated by cutting in other ingredients such as genuine oils—should not leave a stain on your clothes, clog up your humidifier, waterfall, etc.  I’m not sure who the person was who started using the “oil” terminology, but the term oil is misleading in this case. Mind you, the contents in a pure essential oil are not the same consistency as water. Most weigh more than water, actually.

As I shared a bit in the last article, all of our bodies consist of frequencies. As such they house an electrical charge. As you no doubt are aware, not all electrical charges are equal. Even though plants have an electrical charge, we are not “shocked” when we touch them. However, were we to touch a live power line or to be struck by lightening, we would definitely feel the power of such a charge.

As I shared earlier, the more healthy your body is, the stronger the frequency is. Since there is opposition in all things, we can appreciate that if there are positive charges in the world, there are also negative charges. The frequencies in plants consist of a positive charge. Whereas disease, anger, depression, viruses, etc. consist of a negative, frequency-sucking, charge. I realize that there are some out there who may read this and think I’m getting into the crazy, hippy world of things. I promise you that I’m not.  I stay far away from such premises or artificial truths. Having dealt with such cancerous philosophies in the past, I consider myself to be highly sensitive to such misleading, although perhaps well-intentioned premises. Anyway, rest assured that what I’m sharing with you thus far can be scientifically verified. Every living thing has an electrical current running through it. This is part of the reason why defibrillators are used so successfully in emergency medical treatments for the heart. The electrical current gets things running again when the frequencies have stopped functioning. So keep that in mind and then stay with me here a moment.  Ok. so where do essential oils come in to all of this?

As I shared previously, all plants have a positive charge/frequency in them. Now, understand that one single drop of an essential oil is extracted from an entire pound of positively charged botanical resources.  That’s right. If you are using rosemary oil, every single drop you use is the harvest of an entire pound of rosemary—that’s one of the reasons why pure essential oils don’t come cheaply.  When you are able to condense all of the frequency and positive charge of an entire pound of live plants into one drop of oil, it’s bound to make an impact on your own body’s frequency—for the etter. The key is to use it in or on your body in its most effective manner. So next, I will discuss how best to use essential oils.

There are actually several schools of thought that have been handed down through the ages. Some say that the French initiated the learning of essential oils, when in fact, it originated with native American Indians. As you may recall from your history books, the French were once close allies of the Indians. As such, the French were first exposed to the use of botanical oils to cure all types of ailments—even those that many of us would go to the emergency room for today—through their dealings with the native Indians. However, the French elected to take their newfound knowledge and break it down into a science in hopes that they could better understand it. Parts of Asia also used this method of medicine as well. Eventually, England and Europe embraces the use of essential oils and even included it into their mainstream medicine. The various ways that you hear about using essential oils today are all rooted in the thought process of these few nations. Unfortunately though, when their initial research was done, it didn’t have the benefit of the scientific advances that we have today. It’s been quite a while since a major study has been led on essential oils on the same level that they were researched in the early 1900’s.

Inhalation: The school of though for Germany was that the inhalation of the essential oils was the best way to get them into your body. This premise holds a lot of weight when we recognize that some of our favorite smells usually bring about a strong physical or emotional reaction in us.  I find merit in using essential oils by diffusing them into the air, but not usually for an immediate medical need. Again, as a reminder, ALL essential oils have an anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-virus component to them. Thus releasing them in the air is sure to make your breathing better and improve the amount of bacteria and mold that you may have in your home. Weber State University did an extensive study on this fact when they were commissioned to study the Thieves oil blend from Young Living Oils. While the science does prove that the essential oils can gain a less obstructed access to the blood stream in this manner, when the essential oils are diffused in the air they run into a whole lot of obstacles that hinder their maximum efficacy in entering your lungs and nasal passages. Think about it. Even if you were to diffuse the essential oils as close as two feet away, the essence would still need to get by millions of negatively charged particles before accessing your system. While that’s great for diffusing the negatively charged dust and mold particles, it only produces a small amount of benefit that accesses your system. I have discovered in reading the writings of many experts, that the inhalation method is a great supplement to other, more effective methods of using essential oils, but for the reasons I’ve outlines is not the preferred option.  Also keep in mind that when heat is used to infuse an oil, it can compromise the positive effect of that oil by rendering it rancid. So infusing it with air, water, or a spray into the air are much more effective methods of infusion.

Consumption: The French advocate using essential oils in every possible way, but they lean heavily on taking the essential oils orally. While there is still benefit done to the body through this manner, it’s still not the most effective manner, thanks to the liver which works so hard for our bodies. Anything that is eaten is metabolized by the liver, thus the liver cleans out  as much as 90% of  medicines, vitamins etc. While essential oils are more friendly to the body than chemical compounds, a portion of their efficacy is lost during the metabolization process. This problem is much more prevalent if you are using oils that have other ingredients cut into them such as almond oil, olive oil, and other herbs or foods.  While essential oils have a much better “security clearance” in your body than do these other ingredients, the other ingredients compromise the ability of the essential oils being able to pass through the cellular walls easily without obstacles. So, if you can tolerate using a pure, unadulterated essential oil bilingually, meaning holding it under your tongue for 30 seconds or more, it will better enter your bloodstream and get to the cellular level faster and with a higher frequency still in tact.

Topically: This is by far the best way to get the essential oil directly into the blood stream. There are many areas of the body in which the blood vessels are closer to the surface or which lead directly to other vital areas of the body faster, but applying the essential oils topically certainly eliminates some of the other obstacles which I’ve shared. When you apply an essential oil topically, you are increasing the medicinal effect by 10 times as opposed to taking it orally. In other words, any medicine you can use topically will have ten times the impact on your body that taking it orally. This is primarily because you are bypassing the “health sentries” known as the stomach acids and the liver. Instead of waiting for the sentries to give the essential oil “permission” to go into the blood stream—after losing a lot of its efficacy while traveling throughout the body—you get to apply it directly into the blood stream where your most vital living cells are.  This means that you can get more benefit for your buck when you are able to apply them topically. For example, I have one oil blend that I drink during the day—about 5 drops per 20 ounces of water. I started applying it to the bottoms of my feet at night and I discovered that I could feel the benefits in the morning the same as if I had been drinking water all night.

There are many stories in which persons believe they’ve had a negative reaction to topically applied essential oils.  In such a case, I remind persons that moderation and common sense are critical—especially when applying essential oils. Essential oils are POWERFUL folks. You can’t put apply an entire pounds worth of a tingly oil such as cinnamon on your hand without experiencing a healing crisis. For example, the essential oil, Clove, is quite powerful. When applied to the body directly and without any other oils it can cause an uncomfortable burning sensation. While it won’t irritate the skin, per se, it can certainly deter a person from using it properly. When you have oils that are strong, like the clove oil, you may want to consider weakening the initial impact that the oil may have on one particular area of your body. This can easily be done by mixing the oil with a bit of water and then rubbed onto your skin. The water evaporates while the oil makes its way into the blood stream. This subdues the initial reaction of your skin coming in contact with a powerful herb like clove or cinnamon. This can also be done with healthy carrier oils such as coconut or almond oil.

Ok. So we’ve talked about the positive charge of essential oils. As you well know, there is opposition in all things. We have positive charged frequencies and we have negatively charged frequencies all around us. Disease, depression, anger, viruses, bacteria, etc. are all negatively charged.  As such, in the body’s effort to neutralize these invaders, it uses positive frequencies in an attempt to neutralize the negative charge.  What the net balance is at the end of the duel is what indicates your overall health. Think of this like your checking account. When you have money in your account you’re in the positive until withdrawals take from that positive balance. At some point, if you make too many withdrawals you can end up in the negative.  When your body is in the negative, then you have a health problem that manifests itself physically and emotionally. There are obviously numerous ‘anti-frequency agents in our life that we are exposed to on a daily basis. At the very least, these negatively charged exposure translate into stress in our body. Stress is a physical compromise in our body. Some other well-known offenders are caffeine, pain killers, processed sugars, molds, mildew, pollution, loud/threatening noises, as well as processed starches. All of these things actually have a negative frequency, meaning that when we put them in or on our body, they diminish the positive frequency of our bodies.  When this happens, the frequency levels of our body are compromised—kind of like when the Imperial Falcon had its force shield down and was taking all of those damaging hits. This leaves us wide open for a myriad of diseases, unexplained  mood swings, bacteria, and viruses that surround us.  It also compromises our emotional and mental strength as well.  So, in order to keep yourself fully charged and not live your life in an unrealistic bubble, I suggest that you regularly use pure essential oils on a dailybasis, even possiblymany times a day, to put the odds in your favor.

When using essential oils, just picture them being part of the daily “force shield” you and your body needs to get through the day.  Since we have so much negative garbage that flies at us everyday, I cannot say with enough emphasis just how important it is for you to do something proactive every day in order to maintain your positive frequency charge. Yes, I am saying to PLEASE apply at least one essential oil daily. I can think of nothing easier or more effective than applying a drop or two of essential oils to the bottom of your feet. Why the bottom of your feet? Because the nerves which end at your feet is where the buck stops with all of the nerves of every other vital organ in your body. You want to access the bladder, apply oil to the feet. You want to access the heart, apply the oil to your feet. On, and it doesn’t hurt the smell of your feet any either, hee hee.

I suggest that once you start experiencing the wonderful physical and emotional benefits to using essential oils properly, you’ll want to incorporate them abundantly in your life.

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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

So, what is all of this stuff  and hooey about essential oils? Are they just another quack medicine? Do they really serve any real purpose? How in the world do you decide which fluffy named oil to purchase? Do I choose the one named “My Life” or “Love Life”? How do you use it?  What are the side effects?  Can you overdose on it? Will it stain my clothes? Can I use them on my cat named Fluffy who’s stresses out every time I leave the house? Is it addictive?

If you’ve ever wondered any one of these questions before, then you’ll love the articles I’ll be throwing at you over the next couple of weeks.  Not wanting to bore anyone and in the interest of keeping things fun and exciting—yes, we are allowed to use those words on a preparedness site—I’m not going to do a series all in order on a set number of days on this subject, but have decided that my goal this year has paid off well and I’m comfortable with my resources and personal experiences to help anyone else who’s interested understand this great, invaluable resource.  I have to tell you, the more I learn about essential oils, the more amazed I am at just one more miracle that’s available to us.  It’s also been kind of fun this year as I’ve studied, because so many times I’ll have an “ah ha” moment in which I suddenly understand the history behind certain actions that we still perform today (I personally love those kinds of moments when for just a second things make sense and are reconciled). So, let’s get going and growing.

Every year I set a goal to study in one particular field of expertise that I want to really master and learn. This year it was essential oils. After using them successfully for about 10 years, I still felt like such a newbie and that there was so much that I was missing. I’m so glad to tell you that my hard work and time has paid off so far. When it comes to essential oils I feel as excited as I did when I first learned about scrapbooking. That’s pretty excited if you consider the fact that my husband had to build me two closets to keep all of my scrapbooking supplies.

As you know, I’ve written numerous times about using essential oils here and there, but today I thought that I would establish a foundation of some general information on essential oils so that you can determine whether or not they should be a part of your preparedness efforts. Today I’m just going to address in what ways essential oils are beneficial to us. Then in the next piece—say, “Essential Oils 201”, I’ll address the fundamentals of selection and storage of essential oils, how to determine which one to use, etc.  I may even get into some of the combinations and uses of oils for specific issues. (According to the FDA I can do that as long as such anecdotal information doesn’t come from a company which actually manufactures and/or sells essential oils.  Gotta love freedom of speech, eh?)

As some of you may already know, every living thing has an electronic frequency—that includes us humans. Each of us has a electronic current pulsing through us at varying frequencies. That’s right. Each of us has a vibrational frequency, otherwise known as megahertz (aka MHZ)  (In fact it was a science geek who originated the term “sparkling or electric personality—who knew they had a sense of humor? *grin*). Most people’s normal level of brain frequency during normal waking hours of the day is 70-78 megahertz. The healthier and happier you are, the higher the frequency.

Essential oils are living things as well derived by plants (Note: All plants do not create essential oils). As such essential oils are made up of frequencies ranging in number from 52 MHZ to as high as 320 MHZ. Blossom essential oils, such as rose oil, always have the highest frequencies—which is why the tradition of bringing flowers to someone who was ill has been practiced for literally thousands of years.  So, when your frequencies are low due to disease, fatigue, depression, or stress, you can improve the health of your body simply by improving the megahertz level by introducing the frequency of an essential oil.  Essential oils add to and supplement your own frequency. So even if you introduced a low frequency essential oil into your body, you would still have an improvement. What this means is regardless of what essential oil you introduce to your body, you will be improving your frequency level which will assist you in combating what ails you. So while yes, some essential oils are even more effective for what’s compromising your health than others, no essential oil will be bad for you.  It also should be mentioned that essential oils actually have several times greater frequency levels than herbs and food—so if you are into homeopathic remedies and quality foods for the purpose of better health, I think any repertoire would be incomplete without the benefit of essential oils.

When using essential oils, it’s important to understand that true essential oils do not have side effects when used with common sense.  A person can overdose on carrots and cause some great discomfort and even turn orange.  Likewise, a person can use too much of an otherwise harmless but helpful substance in the form of essential oils. But as a general rule of thumb, it is highly unlikely that you are ever really allergic to an essential oil. While you may have heard stories of folks breaking out in a rash or getting stuffed up because of an essential oil, such an occurrence is not a side effect of the oil. It’s actually a healing or cleansing crisis. Chances are that if the person were to continue using an essential oil they would no longer have such a reaction after a couple of weeks. Think about it this way; pimples, for example, are the result of toxins leaving your body. Sometimes such toxins do not leave gracefully. Sometimes there is such a surge of toxins in our body that they all try to leave the same pore at the same time, thus causing an inflammation (kind of like what happens at Wal-Mart on Black Friday when the doors finally get opened)  That doesn’t mean that what you just ate was a toxin, per se, it simply means that your body is getting rid of toxins in your body. Toxins come from what we eat, what we breathe, what we bathe in, etc. and our body miraculously knows to get rid of such toxins as best as we allow it to do so. So, when someone believes they are allergic to a particular essential oil (which is rare, but still possible) the options are to either continue on with that particular oil but at a lower usage amount, e.g. 1 drop instead of 3; try an alternative essential oil instead; or take a break from using that particular oil and then try it again in about 72 hours.

So, why does one to three drops of this stuff have any affect our on physical bodies? Because it has a unique attribute that very few nutritional or medicinal products do—it actually goes right to the cellular level!

As you know, you’ve got a whole bunch of living cells in your body. Each of the cells has a membrane to protect it. In some instances that membrane gets beat up and damaged due to free radicals, disease, and abuses we may inflict on our body. Essential oils have the unique ability to actually penetrate even damaged cell walls because the molecules are so small.  When you consume a medicine or vitamins, they have to be broken down to small enough molecules so that they can benefit your body. However, there are very few medicinal and nutritional treatments that get broken down and used right to the cellular level. The molecules of essential oils are so small that they get through easily to the cells without having to ask permission from other components of the body (such as the liver, kidney, pancreas, etc.) and they can immediately go to work on the scrubbing and cleaning of the membranes and the cells.

Essential oils bring oxygen to the cells, which trigger great healing effects. They are also all anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-viral, anti-infectious, anti-tumoral, anti-parasitic, and antiseptic to some degree or another—with some being more so than others. Even more amazing is that the litany of clinical studies that have been conducted to this extent have all shown that they are able to perform such valuable “anti-functions” without any side effects that are so notorious with pharmaceuticals. Essential oils also activate capillary circulation, so they are a great asset to have post-surgery, etc. Essential oils, particularly lavender and coriander, are effective in helping cell renewal, which makes them great to prevent scarring and for skin care.

Understand that one drop of an essential oil is powerful stuff! (Yes, “stuff” is a new medical term I’ve picked up with all of my studying.) It takes one pound of botanical material in order to create one single drop of pure essential oil. So, due to the nature of essential oils and how they can penetrate the cell walls within minutes, it means that in a very short period of time the benefits of this powerful single drop of essential oil can be realized.

On the hand though, chemicals, as we get with every single pharmaceutical drug out there, have a hard time making their way to the cellular level.  In fact, one of the greatest challenges of chemical research in the medical industry is being able to create a compound that will cross over the blood/brain barrier, thus having an affect on the nervous system. This barrier is the membrane between the circulating blood and the brain that protects the brain from damaging substances affecting the brain tissue and the cerebrospinal fluid. This has been quite the dilemma for the medical industry and more particularly the pharmaceutical industry. Billions of dollars are lying on the table waiting to be claimed by the first drug that can be manufactured to successfully cross over this barrier (Hmmm. I guess God created our bodies to be a bit smarter than the FDA and drug company warlord’s eh? Guess that should tell us something).  The American Medical Association determined that if they could create a product that could cross over the blood /brain barrier then there would quickly follow cures for Alzheimer’s, Lou Gehrig’s, Down Syndrome, Parkinson’s and other nervous system ailments. Interesting to note though is that sesquiterpenes (pronounced sess-quǐ-tur-peens– it’s fun to say and you sound so smart when you say it) ARE able to cross over this barrier. Oh, and guess what?  Yup, several essential oils are a significant source of sesquiterpenes and do have an amazing affect on the nervous system! (See Reference Guide for Essential Oils—Connie and Alan Higley, and June, 1994 University of Berlin study)  This means that essential oils can actually have an impact that no pharmaceutical compounds could ever hope to!  Some good sources of essential oils that are rich is sesquiterpenes are sandalwood, myrrh, and cedarwood. Frankincense also contains sesquiterpenes (yes, I love using this word and saying it out loud while I type) although less than most of the other oils I’ve already mentioned. However, frankincense has a wonderful synergistic effect because of all of its other attributes that makes it a favorite oil to use for sesquiterpene therapy. But we’ll get into the synergistic effect of essential oils in the upcoming articles. I think I’ve given you enough four and five syllable words for one day.

Until next time, you may want to do some researching for yourself. If you’re anything like me, you might just get a bit excited at all of the natural, accessible, affordable, and effective options there are for your health in the world of essential oils. I sure am. I recommend “The Chemistry of Essential Oils Made Simple” by David Stewart, Ph.D., D.N.M. and also check out your local health food store and see if they are offering any essential oils classes.

Now, where did I put my favorite sesquiterpene oil? I’m feeling a little discombobulated.  Oh, and yes, essential oils are addictive, but in a really, really great 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

Last night I laid restless the entire night—yup, the entire night.  As I’m not a morning person, it’s rare that I am conscious enough to hear my husband’s alarm go off—both of them. (grin) But this morning I did.  As I heard the unfamiliar static of the talk radio station which usually rouses him into the planned activities of his day, I couldn’t help but wonder what would it require for the people that I care about to finally hear the rational, logical wake-up call for action—to be more independent of vulnerabilities which surround them?

The end of the great Roman Empire was not brought about by a depression or even a recession.  While history shows us that entire industry and commerce itself was crumbled into dust, we can’t simply blame their demise on the attack of foreign enemies. The more important view of that epic fall is to see that it was brought about because of a failed economic system of ease and entitlement. What we can learn from the fall of that nation is that those in power were permitted to conspire and control the flow of vital supplies through a monopoly of specialized skills held by a few instead of the talents  and work ethics of everyday persons—skills which could be handed down from one family to another. 

The persons who understand and control our nation’s flow of supplies are few and unfortunately, the ability to plan, prepare, sow, harvest, and reap is also scarce. Think about it.  Does the job of overseeing six feet of a conveyor belt prepare them for a meaningful contribution and sustainment of a flourishing society? Such a “skill” does nothing to prepare someone to render any other skills or assets to contribute to a society other than their tax dollars.  But what happens when our nation’s dollar value comes into question?  Who pays for the skilled few to oversee and ensure the flow of vital supplies? What then happens when the food supply is interrupted or when there is an oversight of supply needs for everyday medical supplies? Sadly, this same person, and so many others like them, will suffer needlessly for a lack of preparation in knowledge and supplies which can help produce a self-sustaining community.  In the name of “efficiency” and “immediate satisfaction,” without the risk of investment or labor on our part, we have allowed our food and medical supplies to be vulnerable to a highly volatile system managed by a relatively small number.  This flow of vital supplies in our country reminds me of a top secret project that is so secret, no one person is able to see the entire picture, only the small, snippet of specialized secrecy which they are required to work on before passing it on to only one other person, who then works on their narrow segment of information, and then passes it on to the next person, and so on, and so on.  Just how vulnerable is our present system of supplies?

Only sixty years ago, the average family had enough grain and preserved produce to last them seven years. In 1964, the Federal Government bragged of having enough food stockpiled to feed our entire nation for three years. Recently, FEMA admitted that they have the means of feeding only 6 million persons—once—in spite of the fact that our nation has over 300 million members. Today, we have naively accepted that it’s ok for our nation’s residents as a whole to only have FOUR WEEKS supply of food. Even worse, the majority of Americans who are NOT even considered to be living at the poverty income level have no more than three weeks supply of food in their home.   Why does FEMA only have enough food for 6 million persons in a nation of 300 million?  Because it’s simply not their job to feed the nation.  It’s their responsibility to provide aid to those who are thrust into exceptional living circumstances. As surely as our freedom is our own responsibility, so is our sustenance for now and in the future.

The bottom line? Our access to vital supplies such as food, herbs, and medicinal plants is not threatened because of a scarcity—at this moment.  Rather the abundance of such is threatened because of our lack of skills to reproduce and distribute such supplies independent of specialized skills among a few persons. Thus our access to such supplies is at a highly vulnerable state because we have not taken measures to prepare against such a time—NOT because of a specific looming famine, act of war, or cataclysmic event.  A needy, clingy society is no more awarded with independence and prosperity than a sniveling, groveling emotionally unstable woman is to a single man.  Ironically, a prepared, self-reliant home in our nation is as specialized and niched as are the skills necessary to sustain a thriving community. Many of us do not have sufficient supplies in our own home, nor have we mastered the sufficient skills needed to ensure that we can produce our own food with a modest amount of care independent of outside sources. To me, this just isn’t acceptable. If I behaved that way, I’d consider myself to be ungrateful for what I presently have been blessed with; akin to a spoiled brat, presuming that I’m entitled to what I have for the rest of my life without a care or concern as to how I’m going to receive it. 

I also feel that this scenario is a somewhat alarming state of vulnerability—more so because it is not necessary.  We all have the ability to alter away that vulnerability and replace it with strength, confidence, competence, independence, and peace.  Yet so many I care about consciously choose to bring about painful consequences upon themselves.  Case in point—as a nation we mindlessly spend over $500 billion dollars a year protecting things such as houses, boats, RVs, and automobiles, and yet so many commit nothing in the form of time, money, or intelligence, towards protecting our own persons and our family.  $500 billion spent on overpriced insurance so that folks can replace inanimate, non-living things; and yet sadly, encouraging someone to simply spend at least $20 a month on their future security by purchasing necessary provisions seems to be too much of a stretch mentally and/or financially to these very same persons.  The really ironic angle of all of this, is somehow the persons who spends hundreds of dollars insuring toys and non-essentials label those of us who are willing to plan for the future as “wackos, crazy survivalists, or extremists”! Yeah, that makes a lot of sense, doesn’t it?  Just because some of us plan for a realistic rainy day and have the audacity to learn how to start a fire without a blow torch, we’re somehow worthy of the label “nut job.” *heavy sigh…recollect myself.*

In the past I usually really try to put my thoughts out there in a bit more educational, neutral, kind, and inoffensive manner. However today, I’ve decided to acknowledge the fact that death isn’t too kind to those of us left behind. It’s real. It’s painful. And it’s a lot more costly than the alternative in the long run. Thus I will close by saying that a dearth of critical supplies only encroaches on a society that ignores the eternal truth of self-reliance. In such an instance, even the strongest, most stable economy can find itself crippled, begging to be enslaved to such self-defeating behaviors once again, all in the name of progress.

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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.

Medical supplies photo c/o www.macombcountymi.gov

by Kellene Bishop

As I’ve shared previously, preparedness is primarily about independence from vulnerabilities.  After being on nearly a dozen medications regularly for years, I decided to take a closer look at my medical vulnerabilities as a whole in order that I might more fully understand what kind of a battle I’m engaged in—after all, bringing the most effective weapon to the battle is only possible if one knows their opponent well. After doing a great deal of research over the last year for the benefit of my own path towards medical independence, I’ve realized that I’ve essentially attempted to fight the battle with a lot of ammo and no firearm. While a mass of cartridge rounds may appear intimidating to most enemies, it’s downright laughable without the right tool to expend them.  Nowadays, it’s my belief that by educating ourselves on just how truly vulnerable we are medically, we can have a better drive and motivation towards taking care of ourselves as much as possible. I hope that you all may benefit from the last two years of focused research that you might be more medically independent in your life.

First of all, allow me to say that I firmly believe that our medical practitioners have an important and appropriate place in our society.  The advances of modern medicine and the accompanying technology is absolutely amazing.  For many, the only alternative to relying upon such advances would be certain death.  That’s one side of the coin. However the other side of the coin is what I’m addressing today—the side which presumes there is no other alternative, responsibility, or accountability when it comes to our healthy independence.

The focus of today’s article is an encouragement that you take more responsibility and accountability for your medical well-being.  Part of that is being more aware of the person or entity that you empower to have influence over your health care.  Here’s just some food for thought to being with. In spite of often being cited to the contrary, heart disease and cancer are not the number one killers in America.  It’s actually medical malpractice. In fact there are a countless articles in the legal world which address this fact, yet you won’t see a medical organization ad that addresses this fact (just Google medical malpractice + cause of death).

Along that same vein, pay close attention to the entities which you give heed to.  I’ve seen a lot of shocking things during my time in the world of high finance.  I’m to the point now that nothing surprises me when it comes to following how money and power really pull the strings to many vital aspects of our survival.

Pharmaceutical recalls photo c/o whatthehealthmag.files.wordpress.com

Let’s take pharmaceuticals for example. How many drugs are you familiar with that have been originally approved by the FDA, only to have them pulled off of the shelf due to fatal consequences in their use?  And yet the FDA approves them.

Have you taken time to research what causes the FDA to approve some drugs and not others? Why are some drugs approved in record time and not others (i.e. the H1N1 immunization shot)? With all of the medical advances in our world for treating cancer have you wondered why chemotherapy and radiation are STILL the only FDA approved treatments for cancer (vs. the successful Vitamin B-17 treatment that causes over 20,000 Americans to go leave the country to find B-17 treatments elsewhere)?  If the FDA really cared about your health, then why don’t they put any energy into approving preventative methods?  I’m sorry to sound so negative folks, but the truth of the matter is, there isn’t much money in preventative health care. You can’t patent naturally existing minerals and vitamins, etc.  If the FDA really cared about your health, then why don’t they or the USDA actually have the power to shut down offending food, meat, or other plants who are repeat offenders?  When it boils down to it, the FDA is driven by power and money. Where there is an absence of gain for the FDA, there is an absence of proactive motion. Worse than a lack of action, are the results OF their actions. Their seal of approval on products has become as questionable as Rosie O’Donnell endorsing health food. It’s unfortunate that the FDA has continually proven themselves to be wrong again and again. As such, they have not earned the respect in my world that merits them to have the final say over what I will and won’t put into my body. When it comes to medical practices, they focus solely on treatment, not prevention.  This is the ONLY reason why they have

administering medicine photo c/o www.cosmosmagazine.com

 not poked their nose into the market of natural remedies up until now—and the only reason why they are threatening to push into this field of oversight is because the treatment medical industry has taken a financial beating over the last 5 years to the tune of over $100 billion dollars! Yup. The treatment methods have powerful lobbying groups and they are making sure that the FDA essentially puts a stop—or at least a large stumbling block—to all of the mom and pop kind of homeopathic methods out there. That sad truth is that the FDA is influenced largely by power and money, not by the “conclusive studies.”  I have found that time and time again the study of a drug tends to lean in the direction of the company that is paying for the study to be done.  While I may sound like a broken record, folks, keep in mind that the FDA had their own doctors come right out and say that a cigarette a day would keep the doctor away, that AIDS was contagious by touching, and that the only acceptable way to treat cancer is a deadly chemical radiation. (See G. Edward Griffin’s book “A World Without Cancer”. It’s packed full of indisputable research, facts, and evidence.)

Along these same lines, the other large vulnerability we have exposed ourselves to is the rampant acceptance of pharmaceuticals.  As one who struggles with clinical depression, obesity, and the ailment of insanity in the world around me (*grin*) I too think that life might me easier if it could just be fixed with a little pill each day.  However, I’ve come to realize that our bodies are so absolutely amazing in how they were created and that if I just do more to encourage them to function properly, then I can avoid so many of the drugs out there.  Pharmaceuticals are high-powered chemicals with real-life side affects. Can you believe that we now are told—with a straight face—that possible side effects of the drugs we take may result in “temporary paralysis, thoughts of suicide, liver failure, heart attack,” etc. etc. (By the way, if you haven’t seen Disney’s movie “Old Dogs”, you may want to. It’s nothing more than meaningless entertainment calories—light and fluffy.  But there’s a hysterical scene in there about what happens when two guys get their litany of medicines mixed up due to the side-effects.  I was cackling so hard, my cheeks and my gut hurt the next day). Due to the scenario in which the pharmaceutical companies test their subjects, most drugs are created much more potently than is necessary as well.

hydration photo c/o yalesustainability.files.wordpress.com

The majority of Americans run through their days dehydrated.  Unfortunately, much of what we put in our bodies chemically is a drying agent, thus compounding the dehydration effects.  However, if our bodies are well hydrated, then the effect of our medicines would be more obvious and thus we wouldn’t need to take as much. Water is necessary to cause the medication to be transported throughout our body.  However, when the pharmaceutical industry goes through the testing of their drugs on human beings, they pay no attention whatsoever to the state of hydration in the body.  The presence of water/hydration in the body compounds the effects of all nutrition—chemical or otherwise. Given that the majority of Americans are dehydrated, the medicines are made more powerful than necessary so that most patients can experience the desired chemical results of their medications. And yet there is a mountain of highly credible research to indicate that the symptoms of serious medical conditions such as heart disease, kidney failure, cancer, depression, ADHD, and diabetes would be dramatically lessened if the patient were to stay well hydrated.  Wouldn’t it be interesting if you were to take a drug that has strict instructions that you not only take a full glass of water with it, but that you also drink plenty of water during the day in order for it to be helpful?  Well, the drug industry wouldn’t sell as much medicine though if they spread that kind of doctrine though, would they?  So, they create and dispense their drugs to the most common denominator—dehydrated bodies.

doctor visit photo c/o shepardinsurancequote.com/

I know that on my path over the last couple of years I have found so many alternatives to traditional medicine.  Allow me to be clear. I don’t think that traditional medicine is evil, per se, I just think that it’s so widely accepted because there’s a seriously concerted effort to get us all to accept it as the answer.  As an expert marketer, I can appreciate such a successful campaign. But the consequences are that most people do not search out alternative answers.  Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of folks who are willing to throw billions of dollars out the window to saturate the market with the message that there are less risky, less expensive, and more effective treatments for what ails us—that don’t require a doctor’s visit, health insurance, surgery, or pricey consults.  Well, in my opinion, if you pick up one end of the stick of mainstream pharmaceuticals, then you also pick up the consequences: dependence, exorbitant expenses, follow-up doctor visits, physical side-effects which require yet more medications, etc, etc.   These kinds of dependencies aren’t just bad in one area of your life.  They have a negative impact on your areas of Physical, Financial, and Mental preparedness.  What are you going to do if you suddenly do not have access to those drugs? What if there’s an earthquake or a long-term power outage? What if you you’re your insurance or your job and can’t pay for them any longer?

In the name of Physical Preparedness, I implore you all to do what you can to cut the apron strings attaching you to the smothering mother of Medical Dependence.  No, I don’t recommend that anyone attempt to perform their own frontal lobotomy, but I’m 100% sure that there is a whole heck of a lot more that we can do for ourselves than what we are doing.  I KNOW that there are several potent medications that would be a much larger part of my life if I let them. But I try to make sure that I proactively put some good things into my body daily.  I’m not the epitome of health. I’m not saying that we all have to be perfect, but I am saying that we should all TRY perfectly.  Yes, I have the indulgences of life frequently—trying to quit many of them—but in my effort at becoming more independent from vulnerabilities I won’t permit my day to go by without making sure my body is stocked up on the good things that I have easy access to.  Quality vitamins and minerals that actually get absorbed into my body, WATER (at least ½ my body weight in ounces each day), good sleep, sprouts, flax seed (yummy in my yogurt) and other good sources of fiber such as wheat meat, whole grain bread, etc.—these are all a part of my daily proactive regime. I find that if I do enough of the proactive behaviors in my day, that I don’t have time or appetite for as many of the harmful actions.   As some of you may know, I also take 2 tablespoons of food-grade diatomaceous earth each day and two teaspoons of Redmond Clay.  I can assure you that there are at least 8 different aspects of my ill health yell loud and clear when I have omitted the proactive consumption of these products.  But I’d much rather have those kinds of things in my body rather than “FDA approved” drugs and treatments and their accompanying side-effects.  Wouldn’t you?

Just another step towards better preparedness folks.  May you exercise all of the independence your body can handle.

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by Kellene Bishop

Salt, the base of society

Dare we ignore something that so valuable it even overshadows the Texas oil industry?  Throughout the world’s history salt has been taxed exorbitantly, wars have been fought for control of salt, and it has been used as a medium of exchange EQUAL to gold. In fact, in desert areas all over the world, the people are well aware of it lifesaving value.  In such environments, wars are likely to break out over salt mining rights just as easily as gold or oil.

Throughout history a civilization was considered as good as dead if it did not have sufficient salt for curing and preserving of meats. Having access to a good salt lick was also critical to attract sufficient game for hunting. Salt is also critical for treating leather, stabilizing dyes, and to mine silver. (Boy does that put salt in its proper place of pecking order or what?)  In fact, salt mining is the backbone of several of the long roads we now have in our country. Yet in the American culture, we’ve missed a bit of education when it comes to embracing salt for our commerce and our bodies. 

In order for your body to prevent dehydration it NEEDS salt. In fact, most persons should consume a ½ teaspoon of salt per day in order to maintain bodily functions.  When the body becomes dehydrated and thus increases that amount of water it needs to hold in reserves, it can only do so IF salt is available. During dehydration, the body seeks salt which is why you may get strong cravings for salt foods. Salt is also critical to the proper operation of our blood, nerves, muscles, digestive, and our lymphatic systems.

Water, salt and potassium together regulate the water content of the body. The salt and potassium are required in order to hold the water in the cells. It also balances the amount of water that’s held outside of the cells as well.  The problem though is that our diet contains plenty of potassium resources, but not salt. Thus it needs to be added into our diet.  And may I also suggest not adding in anything that’s labeled as “salt.” There is a big difference between the highly processed stuff, and real sea salt.

When determining what kind of salt to have in your pantry I wholeheartedly recommend getting a non-processed sea salt. Regular table salt has been stripped of all of its valuable minerals which then get sold off for profit. But those minerals are a great resource for the body. Sea salt that has been processed does not contain enough iodine to maintain healthy levels for the thyroid functions. A quality sea salt will have about 50 different minerals in it including iodine. (I religiously store the brand RealSalt as it’s the only sea salt that I’ve found that is actually mined from a sea bed and is Kosher certified. I might as well cover all of my bases, right?  While you can cut corners at a feed store, you won’t get ALL that you need which comes from the RealSalt, including the iodine, and the lack of additives.)

A stark white salt like most of us are accustomed to seeing is such because it has undergone a bleaching process. It also gets “refined” and I don’t mean that in a good way. It’s mixed with some anti-caking agents and with some iodine added back in—no where near what it originally contained, but at least now they can label the salt as containing iodine, right?  Whereas beautifully raw sea salt will have flecks of color in it as a result of the minerals that are still present. Additionally, you don’t have to use as much sea salt to satisfy your cravings and body functions as you would need to use of the processed stuff. I’m also a big fan of not spending hard-earned money on real food only to season it with processed garbage. 

In an emergency, salt can be used to stave off an asthma attack. Drink a glass of water and then put a pinch of salt on the tongue.  It can be as effective as an inhaler but without any toxic side affects. A bit of salt on the tongue can also help stop persistent dry coughs.

Salt is also a strong anti-stress element for the body—yet another reason why folks crave salty foods when they are stressed.

An excess of acidity in the brain is blamed for bringing on Alzheimer’s disease.  Maintaining a balance of quality salt in your diet will definitely help.

Balance your body's melatonin and seratonin levels photo c/o www.dietsinreview.com/.../

Were you aware that Lithium is a salt substitute that is used to treat depression and emotional disorders?  A balanced diet with appropriate salt can prevent one from needing such chemical intervention.  Salt is also critical to the production of appropriate levels of serotonin and melatonin levels in the brain. Water and salt together are critical for a healthy “coping mechanism” and sleep patterns.

Salt is also vital to balancing sugar levels in the body. So consider being conscientious of its use now as well as if you are a person battling diabetes.

Some folks mistakenly believe that salt creates water retention.  Here are the facts. While extra salt in our body will retain extra water in the tissues, it only does so when there is insufficient hydration in the body. In other words, regular water intake balances all fluid retention in your body. Thus enabling any excess salt in your body will be passed in your urine.

I find it kind of amazing personally to note that our bodies need two different kinds of water–salted and unsalted water in order to be properly balanced. Isn’t it neat to notice that the earth has these two kinds of water sources as well?

The body needs unsalted and salted water

If you’re going to plan on having a reserve of salt to get you through a year, you will want a minimum of 5 pounds of salt, per person and that’s simply for consumption. That does not include pickling, preserving, cooking, etc.  In fact, I just increased my salt reserves recently after watching a fish be cooked in a salt dome. The fish turned out super tender and was flavored beautifully, not salty.  I just had to try it. Although it required about 3 cups of salt, it is well worth the cooking technique. Salt has also been a proven asset for a wide variety of medical care, curing of meats, sanitation, and as a vital asset to any community. All told, I would actually recommend more like 25 pounds of quality salt, per person, per year. The nice thing is salt has got a very, very long shelf life. And if you purchase it with the minerals intact then you won’t need to worry about bacteria developing since bacteria cannot survive among minerals.

I encourage you all to be mindful of this overlooked commodity. Remember, I earnestly place salt as one of the vital four items you must have in your pantry—wheat, powdered milk, honey, and SALT.  It’s not just for food, it’s for survival.

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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

I’ve decided to be very forthright and open in today’s article in hopes that it truly does help someone else.  I often hear people say “I don’t know how you do all that you do.”  I smile and thank them for their gracious compliment, but the truth of it is, I do what I do while challenging a significant obstacle—depression.

Depression can take hold of anyone. photo c/o hopeworkscommunity.wordpress.com

I realize that in this kind of forum I’m only going to be able to scratch the surface on this topic, but I firmly believe that it has not been appropriately addressed in real-life terms and is especially absent topic in the arena of preparedness.

First of all, allow me to dispel some myths of depression.  Depression isn’t a mood, it’s a disease. It’s a break down in the chemical functions of the body that impair communications from the brain to the rest of the body.  The impairment of proper brain charges and chemicals is much like someone having low blood sugar, or high insulin levels, a heart murmur, or a person in need of blood thinners, etc.  In other words, it’s about a deficiency in the body.

Depression isn’t about “woe is me, I want to end my life,” although many forms of depression can get that serious.  There are many levels of depression. Some levels of depression are the lowest of the low and considered “manic.” Other forms manifest themselves when a person eats poorly or doesn’t get enough rest.  Still other forms manifest themselves on a low level throughout a person’s life or on a higher level when a great deal of decision making is thrust upon them. (it feels more like an anxiety though, at that point rather than what some people would associate with “depression.”) Feeling grief or unresponsive due to a severe tragedy in a person’s life isn’t depression. It’s responding naturally to life. Although some people do have a physiological change in their chemical make up in response to such an instance and succumb to depression as a result.  It’s actually very similar to someone being injured in a car accident. Instead, a person’s heart, brain, chemical balance, etc. is injured in a collision with grief.

The grief process can be exacerbated by depression photo c/o www.theocentric.com

Contrary to assumptions, depression isn’t always about a feeling of low or sadness. Sometimes it’s feeling a serious lack of energy to do anything proactive. Sometimes the chemical imbalance demands a great deal of sleep. Depression isn’t something that a person can just “snap out of.”  You can no easier get a person to “snap out of depression” than you can get a paralyzed person to get up out of their wheelchair and walk as the result of a superhuman will.  Some who struggle with depression appear to the outsiders to be wallowing in their victimization status or their “Eeyore moods.”  What many folks don’t realize is that the depressed person literally can’t see it.  Getting them to “snap out of it” when they are in that state is like trying to get a blind person to see clearly. The vision of a seriously depressed person is physiologically skewed and does not represent full faculties. A person suffering from serious depression simply does not see the world as it really is.  They have chemical blinders, much like a person whose mental capacity is altered by drugs.

Another misconception that I really wish people understood for their own benefit is that depression is NOT triggered by the actions of someone else or a particular experience. Too many folks take blame upon themselves for the heavy level of depression experienced by a loved one in their life. While a great deal of stress or a mean hearted act of someone else may not be helpful to someone who struggles with depression, it’s never solely responsible for the depression. Think about it.  Any person who doesn’t deal with depression is affected by stresses of the day, right?  But what happens in response to life, with a person who has depression, is based primarily to how the body responds to the instance—chemicals and electrical charges and all.  Sometimes the chemical and brain signals are insufficient to appropriately deal with a situation. But just because someone has depression doesn’t give an edict of authority to the rest of the world to change and accommodate the person who struggles with depression either.  Just because I may struggle with depression doesn’t give me the right to alter someone else’s behavior.  To put it another way, my car running out of gas on the way to your house isn’t about you living 500 miles away. It’s about how much gas I have in my car. I have a girlfriend who is married to a man who struggles with depression. She can love him, she can be accommodating to a point. But that doesn’t mean that she is to allow his disability to define her worth and virtue as a wife. In other words, when dealing with a person who has depression, it really is NOT you, it’s them.

Compassion and understand is imperative for those living with depression photo c/o brucefong.wordpress.com

So, if you or a loved one struggle with depression, what can be done so that the disease itself doesn’t preclude you from surviving everyday now as well as serious trials in the future?  The answer is specific to a person with depression at any level, but it also has some commonalities with someone who suffers from diabetes or hear or kidney problems. There is only so much you can do to be prepared. But there are a whole LOT of “so much you can do” actions to take.  And then simply let what will be, be from there.

First of all, the key to surviving depression is accepting it.  It’s real. It’s not going to just go away, and person who has depression MUST deal with it as such. When it comes to depression, I feel like dealing with it is just as serious as dealing with a firearm. I use a firearm regularly, but I have the ultimate of respect for its power. I instinctively keep my finger off of the trigger unless I’m in a safe environment or a necessary environment to use it. The same bodes true with depression. I do NOT mess around with it. I don’t treat it as an inconvenient gnat. I’m not casual with it.  I take care of it head on just like I would if I had diabetes. . What I mean by that is one of the most dangerous things people can do is to ignore their depression.  Such persons must be spoken to when they are not suffering a bout of depression and be brought to realize that this can be a killer disease. Worse, it can not only kill someone physically, but it can zap the life, confidence, and worth out of all of those around you that you love.  That’s the worst kind of death, in my opinion.  Professional assistance should be sought out for ANY level of depression. It may not be at a level which requires medication. But it should be watched just as aggressively as a cancerous lump.

Visit with your doctor about any depression symptoms you may have photo c/o www3.whig.com

Secondly, do everything NATURALLY to help battle the depression as possible. This is where I really get to apply some control over this disability and so can many others. As I’ve often said, Preparedness isn’t about being ready for an emergency. It’s about being independent from your vulnerabilities and conquering them. Even those with a physical limitation can do a great deal to be independent in spite of that challenge. When it comes to depression, taking proactive steps to conquer it has a compounded positive impact because not only do I benefit from the independence and peace that such actions take, I also benefit physically in my minimizing the effect of the disease.  Just as many paraplegics refuse to be a burden on those around them, persons who struggle with depression will also benefit substantially from taking on this responsibility as well.

Every time I drink water, for example, I know that I’m taking my depression head on.  Every time I make a healthier food choice or avoid harmful foods I am taking charge of my depression and how it affects those I love.  Every time I work out, I am showing the depression who’s really the boss. *grin* Every time I push myself towards a proactive work I’m “pushing past the pain” so to speak, much like physical therapy.

(As a side note, proper water hydration, excellent nutrition, and physical activity are ALL significant aids in battling depression but they do need to be consistent.)

Excercise and staying hydrated are a must in battling depression photo c/o skynewswire.com

Next, I treat depression with respect.  When I feel it coming on significantly, I do not ignore it. I let my husband know, “hey, it’s coming on and I’m going to just go lie down.”  He’s been educated enough to know that it isn’t about him or what he did or didn’t do. He knows it just comes about sometimes.  Sometimes it’s more like this kind of conversation: “Honey, I’ve got a bout of depression coming on and I still have this to do to get ready for a class. Can you help me?”  It’s no different in my household than if I were to say “Hey, Honey. I just threw my back out; can you lift this for me?”  I don’t hide it from my husband.  But I don’t worry him excessively because he knows that I treat it head on and listen to what’s going on in my body and pay attention. Doing this actually gives me ability many times to censor myself or my actions in the event that I do feel a bout coming on.  It’s almost like a head game. I can realize that I’m about to respond one way to a scenario, recognize it as being driven by my disability, and instead proactively choose to deal with the scenario by my own agency and not that of my disability. It’s because of this that I sometimes jokingly refer to my depression as that stupid hump on my back that gets in my way sometimes.  “It’s alive!,” I sometimes kid, pointing to the imaginary hump on my back, when I realize that I just did something depression driven. While I respect depression, I refuse to be overcome by it, or be less than I’m created to be as a result of it.  I know an 89 year old man that still gets on his stationary bike at 4:00 a.m. to work out. I know amazing Special Olympics children who thrive beyond many non-impaired persons of privilege. I know mothers who went through horrible abuse at the hands of their husbands and who still set the example for me as the epitome of motherhood.  And so when it comes to depression, I’ve taken on the attitude of “there are no victims, only volunteers.”  It’s not always the magic fairy dust that works, but it puts me in an independent state in spite of the obstacle, and that’s what preparedness is all about.

Give all your pains, frustrations, griefs, worries, and despair over to Christ and He will give you peace.

Lastly, I firmly believe in the power of the Atonement for healing all of our ailments. I know that He suffered not just for our sins, but our pains, griefs, and illnesses as well. Thus I am certain that if I will “wrestle with the Spirit” on a consistent basis that I too will have claim on the efficacy of His atonement to heal what I cannot with all of my best intentions.  I know that the Balm of Gilead is real.  I cannot expect to do 5,000 sit-ups in one day to get a 6-pack of abs.  The price has to be paid over time for such a result, with consistent behavior. This is yet another reason why I’m certain that spiritual preparedness is the number one priority of preparedness. Everything else we may work on can be at the mercy of our effectiveness in that one aspect. Regular fervent prayer, meditation, scripture study—and ensuring that my other activities don’t negate the affect of these actions—is just as important to my depression management as is the medical and nutritional aspects.

And that, my friends, is how I recommend overcoming ANY physical impairment in favor of preparedness today and in the future.

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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

Paying attention can get you some great laughs, memorable moments, or vital warnings. Yesterday I was driving behind a police car and noticed that he had a license plate border that said, “Actually, I prefer bagels.” I got a much needed laugh off of that one. Glad I was paying attention.

Photo c/o globalcrisisnews.com/

Most Americans are unaware at just how tenable the financial culture is in our nation right now. But seriously, to not know it is simply a matter of not paying attention. It’s not like we have to trust in some kind of a prophet to see for ourselves. There is a bounty of evidence right now that begs for our attention so that we can be prepared for an inevitable challenge. This evidence spells out the critical need for us to get our own homes in order so that we can survive through the looming financial crisis.

In 1962, the “Cuban crisis” suddenly left the grocery shelves of stores nationwide empty overnight. Yet there was plenty of warning ahead of time to those who were paying attention. These persons had the ability to be independent of panic and price gouging. Yet did anyone pay attention to a looming financial crisis a year in advance of the triggering incident?

Didn’t Americans wake up to what they thought was a routine day on December 7, 1941? Unfortunately there’s some evidence military didn’t pay attention to and we were tragically caught unaware. 

While the “great depression” erupted in a matter of hours, its effects reached millions of Americans for years, in spite of numerous warning signs. Unfortunately, the indicators of today’s looming financial collapse are more rampant and indicate a much more severe collapse than that of 1929. Here are the reasons why I state as such.

1)     Financial Crisis Clue #1: A new batch of over $12 billion (yes, that’s a “B”) of pay option arm mortgages are coming due this fall. We’ve seen how those due dates have affected the market thus far. With unemployment rising, finance restrictions getting tighter, and the mortgage market being so stale, this is NOT going to be a pleasant ride, folks.

Australian Lacrosse Team Quarantined in South Korea Because of Swine Flu. Photo c/o theage.com.au

2)     Financial Crisis Clue #2: Flu outbreak. You do realize that one simple interruption in our nation’s transportation industry will cause a serious financial domino effect, right? There are over 250,000 trucking companies in the U.S. alone. The majority of them are “small businesses.” Just as you live hand to mouth, so do business owners. The trucking industry is no exception. We are due for quite the outbreak of this Swine flu this fall. I’ve never seen a more real potential for a quarantine in the last several decades as I do now. We’ve been warned of a possible quarantine as recent as the first of this month. I’m certain that the delays are being extended as long as possible holding out hope that it won’t be necessary due to the financial domino effect it will have. Other countries have begun some quarantine procedures, costing them over 5 billion dollars a day in lost commerce. I don’t think our economy is healthy enough to endure such a financial hit. The transportation industry is just the tip of the iceberg. Look at the effect a quarantine would have on everything else that doesn’t get paid as a result of consumers not being permitted to go to work. Then look at the businesses that could fail as a result of employees not being able to go to work. Look at the travel industry, hospitality, gasoline, groceries, utilities, credit, entertainment, etc. The cost of a quarantine on our nation would be immense and just by itself bring about a huge depression that would take us 7 years to recover from.

3)     Financial Crisis Clue #3: Hyper inflation. This year the U.S. needs to sell the equivalent of 1.5 times its national deficit amount in the form of foreign investments in order to survive the present financial set back. Unfortunately, we’re almost into August and we haven’t succeeded at that yet. This year our deficit is “only” $1 trillion. However, next year it is $3 trillion. If we aren’t able to raise enough foreign investors for the $1 trillion this year, how are we to expect to raise 1.5 times our projected deficit for 2010—a process which USUALLY begins the quarter preceding the year the investments are needed? When hyperinflation occurs, the only solution is to raise taxes, print more money, or sell foreign bonds. They’ve already raised taxes. We aren’t being successful in selling the bonds. So, what happens if we print more money?

4)     Financial Crisis Clue #4: Currency value is highly questionable. As I’ve attempted to explain previously, national currency only has value in a fully functional economy.  It only has value when there is a healthy balance between supply and demand. As we see in our news on a regular basis, we’ve long surpassed the criteria for a functional economy. I firmly believe our economy is as dysfunctional as Jon and Kate Gosselin’s marriage. Since the Federal Reserve refuses to publish the M3 report anymore which tells the American people just how much currency is in circulation at one time, we are seriously in store for an “emperor’s new clothes” scenario.  The fact that we don’t know how much money is in circulation does not change the fact that we’re seeing significantly higher amounts of currency being exchanged than ever before. The reason why our government has been staking claim to so much land (in spite of the fact that it’s unconstitutional) is so that there is more “collateral” for our foreign bonds. Fort Knox is empty, folks. Even food commodities which we have had in store in abundance in decades past have been exported in desperation to bring cash flow into our country’s government. The clouds are getting awfully dark in this warning, folks.

5)     Financial Crisis Clue #5: Credit crisis. Why in the world would credit card companies—who know full well that the economy is in serious trouble—start increasing minimum payment requirements to more than double the amount they’ve been in the past? What kind of financial sense does that make? Surely they will lose customers in doing so, or cause bankruptcies due to the irresponsible pool of consumers they cater to, right? So why would they make such a seemingly desperate move? It has to do with the fact that their money isn’t as valuable on the international trade markets any longer. As a result, the credit companies themselves have over extended themselves and thus have to cannibalize their source of income in order to bail themselves out. In addition, if you were to go to a grocery store consistently and find them out of milk each time, wouldn’t that start affecting your confidence in the availability of milk? You might start hoarding it when you did find it, or suspect there was a problem with it. The same is happening with money. Consumers are finding the “money shelves” bare at banks, credit companies, and lending companies. This directly affects consumer confidence so they are not parting with their “milk” quite so easily. Consumer confidence has a HUGE effect on currency value.

Utility Bills Could Bankrupt You. Photo c/o co.fort-bend.tx.us

6)     Financial Crisis Clue #6: Credit crisis affects power companies. Most power companies purchase their power in bulk. They are able to do so based on their credit ratings through contracts known as power purchase agreements (PPAs). However, as the credit crunch in our nation becomes more obvious, even power companies are losing their stellar credit ratings and thus have difficulty renewing power purchase agreements, or at the very least, negotiating the best prices. This means, of course, that the power costs are going to go up this fall when many of these agreements are up for renewal. Couple that with the Cap & Trade “TAX” and you have a recipe for yet another financial disaster. It could come to the point where an employee literally cannot afford to drive to work. Your utility costs could bankrupt you. If this type of domino effect occurs, not only would there be a financial collapse, but several utility companies could go bankrupt with no one and nothing to rescue them. Imagine a power company sitting there looking like a ghost town.

Well, I think that suffices for now, folks. My purpose in sharing this with you is to give you yet one more reason why those of you who are preparing for “something” AREN’T crazy, and why the rest of you need to wake up and take advantage of the good times to get ready now. It sure would be a shame if the times of plenty lulled us into a sense of numbness to common sense, wouldn’t it? My friends, I beg you to please wake up and pay attention to the looming financial crisis and prepare accordingly. When this occurs, currency will be useless. Items which have an inherent value to them such as food, medical supplies, fuel, etc. are the only thing that will be worthwhile. Right now you can still obtain such items with our questionable currency. But how long will that last? Is that really a gamble you’re willing to make on your family’s life?

Wake up and smell the currency folks. The financial collapse is indeed looming.

Copyright 2009 Preparedness Pro & Kellene Bishop.  All rights reserved.  You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Preparedness Pro & Kellene Bishop.

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