Preparedness

An holistic approach to survival; mind~body~soul

An holistic preparation, is to rediscover, develop and maintain a complete physical, mental and spiritual state of being, a state of wholeness. This type of holistic preparation will empower you, connecting you with your truer nature; it will give you the confidence to trust in yourself to make the correct decisions and actions in any situation, even the most challenging. Golden Grass Meadow

Mind/ body

Science today is recognizing the mind/ body synergy as united. Activity in the brain, whether initiated from an external or an internal influence, is instantaneously mirrored in the rest of our body and vice-versa. Our main concern when it comes to holistic preparation is to keep these channels through which information is received, translated and used, clear. Aside of the brain wave channels, we have energy channels throughout the body. Unlike or brain waves, these cannot be measured by any instrument we have today, but they have long been recognised by ancient tradition: chi (ch’i, qi ) in China, prana in India

Some ancient body exercise systems recognise these channels and focus on keeping the flow of this energy, believing that obstructions to the flow causes tension and disease and less than optimal physical performance. Some form of exercise; Yoga, Qi Gong, tai chi, may be useful to maintain a good connection to the life-force running through your body. Other exercise routines act on the muscles themselves: Pilates, Alexander technique. Find or create a system that’s right for you. Exercise has the added benefit of bringing oxygen to our blood, vital for health and wellness.

Another beautiful and simple way to balance, energise and improve our state of health ourselves, and one that we imagine all of our readers will appreciate is being in and resonating with nature. Walking in the countryside, breathing in fresh air and enjoying the natural sights and sounds is all it takes to benefit. Doing any of these things with some level of consistency is important to build up stamina, which in an extreme survival situation is going to be important.

Tuning -in - The Experience

Reconnecting with the intelligent self

Sun-set-rays The call to connect or reconnect with the self can be difficult to hear above the persistent calls of others telling us who we are or should be, what we should do, how we should think, what we should wear...the list is endless. These calls are usually from people who do not have our best interests at heart; rather they are from groups of profit motivated corporations motivated by greed and a power-lust that they have acquired because the people within them have also lost their connection with self. In their corrupted attempt to feel whole they aim to have influence over us and because of the sensitive nature of a human being this influence has become powerful enough to overwhelm our finer senses, we are possessed, enchanted...controlled.

There is no blame, we all need to reconnect with our true selves... our enslavement will continue as long as we buy into the distractions offered to us that help us avoid our own journeys to the self. When we have found our inherent power, they too will then have no other route to empowerment than to take the courageous path of finding their own true self.

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A beautifully simple way to escape this bombardment to our sensitive senses is to simply get out of sight and earshot of it and head out to wild country where nature gets on with her own thing and lets us do the same.

Nature isn’t trying to impress anything on us, it creates a pure space free from manipulation of any kind and in this peace we can find the space to tune in to our self.

To ‘tune-in’ is a not just a slang term, for truly the frequency in a natural space is different to that of one that is not and it is frequency much closer to our own bodies when they are in a state of well-being.

It has been said by wisdom keepers of our age that on reconnecting to the self we do not have to find, gain or add anything to ourselves, rather it is a process of getting rid of what we don’t need. This is a meaning behind enlightenment.

Much of what we have to get rid of is the stuff that has been impressed on us mentioned at the beginning of this passage.

Unpretentious nature allows for the discarding of this baggage, waiting ready to ground us...earth our uncovered selves and nourish us with wonders and challenges seen through new eyes.

Exercise to tune-in and connect/reconnect with ourselves

Walk out into a place in the country side where it feels you have left the world behind. You don’t have to go alone but it will be easier if the person or people you go with also want to tune-in to nature and so to themselves.

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Get comfortable. Close your eyes and take a moment to listen to the sounds around you.

Start to listen to your breath, follow each breath in and out. Allowing thoughts to arise and disperse without dwelling on them and keeping your minds attention on your breathing.

You may begin to notice that it feels like nature is breathing with you ...it is, it always is but at these moments it is more noticeable.

As the mental chatter falls away, you will experience the rest of you, it is as if you are expanding into nature. This ‘bigger’ more spacious you is your true self. An experience of your deep connection with all life is happening, sometimes unconsciously, sometimes consciously.

Tuning in - The Science.

Usually our minds are barraged daily by external influences, every millisecond it receives and deciphers a cacophony of sound and imagery.

Different states of mind results in types of brain activity or brain waves these waves are measured in Hz. Although the whole brain and all its different frequencies are active all the time, certain brain waves are more dominant at times than others.

When we are actively thinking, solution finding and focusing our attention on what is happening to us in the present moment, the brain waves measure at 13 - 38 Hz and are called Low Beta waves. When we are relaxed and calm the brain waves measure at 8-13 Hz and are called Alpha waves. Theta waves occur at 4 -7 Hz and happen when we are deeply relaxed and/or asleep, interestingly, the resonant frequency of the earth and it's ionosphere, at the lowest end of its range is, also around 7.5 hertz, suggesting that when we are relaxed we are literally more 'in harmony' with the planet. Delta waves also occur during sleep and measure at 4 Hz and less. More unusually brain waves of 39 to as much as 100 Hz have been measured in the brains of only those that practice meditation. This measurement was taken after meditation not during!

Terrance A. Bastian speaks of a range of brain waves, the Alpha-Theta border

“…It is a state where the central nervous system reduces input from the peripheral nervous system. The lowering of sensory input serves to normally protect the central nervous system from sensory overload caused by stress or physical damage. Without these outside functions for the brain to control, the brain expands its functioning powers. The normally unused portion of the brain becomes active and performs at maximum capacity.”
- Terrance A. Bastian, Brain Activity

Why Tuning-in is helpful in a Survival Situation

Understanding the nature and uses of our brainwaves can help keep us in a balanced state of mind. Today life is challenging and often stressful and filled with Beta brain wave causing situations; too much Beta exhausts us, and this exhaustion can lead to anxiety, impaired judgment & in appropriate response actions. For this reason it is important to find time to tune out of Beta and into the relaxed state of Alpha or/and the deeply relaxed and intuitive state Theta, in order to exercise these more intuitive brain channels… channels that the brain is using to recognize and respond to stuff we do not ‘think’ we notice.

You will find that even in normal day to day life you are able react to challenging and stressful situations in a more calm and un-flustered way, effortlessly navigating your way through what could potentially be panicky situations and staying in control. The more often you take these positive mental routes, the more likely you will slip into them when you need them most.

A simple and effective way to recreate a balanced mind, body state is to breathe, following and focusing on the inhaling & exhaling of your breath. Conscious breathing not only affects the brain, but every organ and molecule in your body, in a positive life enhancing way. This kind of ‘meditation’, practised for a short while once or twice a day is a long recognised way to feel better about everything! Over time the state of mind created from meditation which can be described as one of a relaxed, energised awareness will infuse into your moment to moment life. Many of you reading this will have tried this and can vouch for the benefits of conscious breathing and meditation, if you haven’t… try it! The results are not at question but the consistency to which we practise often is.

Diet

What we choose to put into our bodies is one of the single most important factors of our health. To attain optimal physical well being we need to pay careful attention to what we eat!

Fresh and local produce is good, organic is better, home-grown or wild-harvested is ultimate. We cover nutrition in detail in 'Wild & Edible', which focuses on how to full fill our daily nutrient requirement just from the wild food growing around us.

“With selective foraging and conscious meal combining we will benefit from the ‘less is more’ foundation of a wild food diet, and not go hungry.”

- Wild & Edible, by C J C Lewis