The Human Side Of Prepping for Chaos and Post Chaos.

[Jim Costa]

Jim’s Rant For The Day. The Human Part Of Prepping.

On his podcast yesterday Mike Adams said “A tsumi is coming and only those on high ground will make it.” His meaning was the prepared will be in the best position. (link) “Best position” for what? I am certain he meant survival but what I am looking at is the prepared will be in the best position to help others struggling to crawl out of the train wreck they were just in. That is what I am about to discuss here, how to prepare now to assist the less fortunate survivors as we get to the backside of the chaos.

I see the prepared as the prepared waiting for the wreck to occur over the next two months. After that we will be in the eye of the storm but can then venture out and assist in the recovery effort as the chaos continues to play out after the worst is over. We can then know what to expect.

I am not suggesting you venture out in military trousers with the large pockets filled with cigarette lighters, bottles of anti-depressants and rolls of gauze bandages. I am suggesting you take this lull time to prepare for the human side of prepping so that you can cause your local neighborhood to organize itself to help mitigate the suffering.

I suggest we all prepare to:

a) Establish Revolving Leadership Methods so as one leader peters out a replacement can take the reins without a lot of conflict and loss in the process.


b) Spot Personalities based on body shapes & traits so we know who to accept as leaders and who not to follow, who to ask to prepare a plan and who is not prepared to plan, who is a follower & worker and who was born to lead and organize. I suggest this skill as we will not have time to sniff butts like dogs to see who is who;

c) Learn about Group Meditation and how to use this powerful tool to calm and heal those around you as well as see what I coming around the corner for better planning;

d) Open up the intuitive/physic part of your life and creating your own future.
________________________________________________________________

See details in the following 4 frames.

 

[Jim Costa]

A) Revolving Leadership:

Our 50 person fall-back group uses a method that recognizes people have a difficult time planning and thinking during periods of high stress. We also recognize meetings are much more productive when that are with a maximum of about six persons. This way everyone can speak their ideas and consensus is easier to achieve.

Therefore, we divided our focus on six main areas:

Health Moral Nutrition
Planning Physical Security

Each focus group places a leader on the six person council.

The first focus group meeting of each month a call for election can be made by anyone. This keeps the Focus Group running itself. If they want term limits or a revolving leadership they are free to choose. We have an overall Camp Director, like a maintenance man, calling in the Focus Groups when needed. He is overseen by the council.

In the case of a security crisis, the Security leader takes overall command until the council declares an “All Clear”. Then it’s back to laundry, meals and water production. A member can work on as many Focus groups as he wishes.

After the train wreck modify the above to fit your community needs but try to limit your council to six persons.

See: Our Organizational Chart See Also: 52 - Leadership Lessons Learned From Ship Wrecked Groups; Link (Page 55)

 

[Jim Costa]

B) Spotting Personalities.

Around 1980 the medical profession realized they were going to be processing patients faster than the then half hour, which is now around 13 minutes. They were fearful that without the time and familiarity with the patient, they would not know if they were dealing with a non-complainer or a hypochondriac, a diligent or spasmodic medicine taker, etc. So they commissioned a study that produced five body types which gave them a clue of the patient’s personality attributes.

I took their 5 body types and reduced it to 4 body types that overlays the 4 personalities as defined by the Personality Plus method, which I used heavily in business. With it you can spot two strangers getting out of a car and know which one gets on top and which one has to sleep in the wet spot; how long it takes each to make a decision and which will make the best decision. In fact, you will know which one is the decision maker. You will know which one is the introvert and which is the extrovert.

These are powerful tools of knowledge in dealing with strangers. You will know who to follow and who to lead naturally and when to lead each person and when to follow them. You will know who the planner is and is not. These will be a greatly required skill to develop for organizing an Ad Hoc group in a panic situation.

Below is a video of the free seminars I put on for business to bring their employees into a more cooperative atmosphere. Our biggest relationship problems is to think everybody thinks like us when they are different and we can’t appreciate that. We misuse their potential.

Spotting Personalities: Link (One hour seminar)

 

[Jim Costa]

C) Group Meditation:

In the 1980’s prison riots were common in Senegal, South Africa, one of the poorest countries in Africa. Three years after a new warden was assigned to one such prison there the rioting stopped. All prisons annually post their recidivism rates, the percentage of released prisoners returning to prison. Globally that rate is around 60 - 70%. That particular prison rate dropped from 70% to 10% in three years.

Scientists descended on the prison searching for the explanation. The first year of investigation tagged it to the new warden requiring all inmates to learn to meditate. After an introduction class, the inmates were free to continue meditation or not. Some chose the continue, some abandoned the practice.

The second year the scientists returned with brain scan machines. Most global inmates have dead spots/holes in their frontal lobes, the part of the brain dealing with impulse decisions. What they discovered was that few inmates there had them. The scientists were shocked because they didn’t know the brain could regenerate parts of itself, if that is what happened. But this story goes deeper.

The medical profession has known that the best healing state was no longer the Beta dream state but rather the meditative state. In that state the body sends free oxygen to the organs it feels needs it the most for rejuvenation. I suppose that is why severe patients are put in a coma nowadays. Therefore, the medical profession knows you can help your body heal by meditating.

The third year the scientists studied new inmates by scanning their brains. Sure enough, they fit the normal pattern with a great percent having dead frontal lobe spots. The fourth year they returned and found very few of them now had the dead spots. Sure enough, their brains were rejuvenated!

Now for the strange fact. Both the mediators and non-mediators were rejuvenated. The scientists concluded that group meditation was so strong that it not only healed the practitioner but persons geographically near them.

Dr. John Hagelin now entered and performed Group Meditation experiments. He is a quantum physicist who then switched paths and specialized in group meditation.

Now see: 4 Minute Video by Dr. Hagelin

Simple Meditation Practices: Dr. Hagelin used transcendental meditation only in the experiments performed. This was because that form is precisely defined and can be used exactly the same way by everybody. There are many forms of meditation, some simple and some not so. One method was selected so that any variance in results could not be attributed to the various meditation methods used – there was only one.

Meditation can be as simple as drinking half a bottle of beer then laying back on a beach towel, closed eyes, forgetting about the dirty laundry backed up and focusing only on the sounds of the birds and moving water for 15 minutes. So no, you don’t have to take a class.

 

[Jim Costa]

D) Open Up Your Intuitive Side and Creating With Your Mind:

Albert Einstein inadvertently created the science of Quantum Physics, the study of the make-up of atoms. As they studied smaller and smaller atom attributes, one study showed them a whole new world before us. That theory is called Schrödinger's cat. That theoy lead to other experiments that indicate when studying the extreme small, such as which way a sub-atomic particle spins (left or right), it is observed spinning in the direction the observer thought it would be before he looked. This indicates that the physical is what the observer himself created. Complex, isn’t it?

This is taking us to the Robin Williams’ movie What Dreams May Come. The scientists realized the science was practically touching the hand of god, as we may be co-creating, and waited 30 years for the religions to address the issue. The religions failed to speak perhaps because it might interfere with their religious organizations and beliefs. So around 1960 the scientists began publishing their findings. This ultimately resulted in The Secret (book or free full video) and the video of What The Bleep Do We know? (Trailer or free full video). These both show how to harness your thoughts to create your life.

See: Jim’s Rant For The Day. How To Find The Woo People To Teach Us.

P.S. I suggest you start with the first frame of this thread.

 

[MOS0231]

Interesting idea.

Around here, prepping is just a way of life.
Most have gardens. Most can. Some have small, medium or even large livestock.
Since the pandemic, I have seen even more gardens, and small livestock.

We have a town council. But if the fuel goes, I expect a number of those members will not be able to even make it to the town hall. With fuel gone, walking or bicycling becoming the main source of transportation, body types are going to change. We all are going to get a lot thinner and not by choice.

 

[Amish Heart]

People have big families where I live. Each household has it's own leader.

 

[GeorgiaPeachie]

With fuel gone, walking or bicycling becoming the main source of transportation, body types are going to change. We all are going to get a lot thinner and not by choice.

Folks need to make sure they have good bicycles with the correct tires for their terrain they will be riding on. Having a small bike cargo trailer is advisable too. Many in America need to change their body!

 

[TexPrep]

While all that sounds good I'm not sure how well it would work in practice.
If you have a group of trusted individuals I can definitely see it working,but not many people have that luxury.
We live in a pretty affluent neighborhood so I know these people have the means to prep but I'd bet that less than 5% do it.
They may have started recently due to the current conditions. The Wife and I didnt get serious about long term food storage until about 4 months ago.
For us it's been easy because we're both into the outdoors,firearms and many aspects of prepping not because we were preppers but because our hobbies dovetail with the base of prepping. We're lucky in that respect,all we had to do was add a few more items that apply directly to prepping and start storing food.
When I look at my neighbors it's pretty easy to see they'd be starting from scratch so I doubt they're going to be any help whatsoever.
My particular neighborhood is in a huge master planned community but it only has around 75 homes in it and is gated with 6 foot brick walls surrounding three sides the fourth side is open to the golf course which would make it rather difficult to protect and thats assuming you could get these people to take things seriously.
The more I write or type the more I think it would be best just to head to the BOL if it even looked like things were going south since I have very little confidence when it comes to my neighbors.
Our BOL sits on a peninsula with around a 100 ft wide entry and there's 4 or 5 camps on it. We know all them and they're like minded but it's not like they're good friends,the only time we see them is when we go to the lake.

 

[GeorgiaPeachie]

Any area, community or neighborhood that appears to have wealthy folks will be high on gangs target lists. Be smart and get out very early!

 

[TexPrep]

Any area, community or neighborhood that appears to have wealthy folks will be high on gangs target lists. Be smart and get out very early!

Yep..
The only defense is the gazel defense.
You're one in thousands of homes but they'd eventually get to you if things went on to long..
We had a hurricane come through and a lot of people evaced. We have a lot of people from out of state and out of country since we're in the energy corridor.
Our neighbors to our right were from California and they went nuts boarding up windows,tying lawn furniture to trees. I told them thats not going to be necessary we're far enough inland that we'd probably experience 50mph gusts at most.
He came by after words and said it looked like he spent a bunch of money and time for no reason.

What I did see from my upstairs balcony was some scraggly looking guy with a towel wrapped around something long walking down the sidewalk,we're on the side of the gated neighborhood that has the brickwall and there's a sidewalk that runs by the golf course. I figured it was a crowbar or something similar. He looked up and gave me a weird grin, I just picked up the AR and smiled back at him.
It wasnt 20 minutes later when I heard a lot of hollering down the street. The guy was obviously here to break into the houses of the people who evaced.
It didnt sound like his plan was working out for him.
Of course in a real SHTF situation it wouldnt be one guy,it would be a dozen or more.

 

[MOS0231]

People have big families where I live. Each household has it's own leader.

I like the Amish model.
Each home has its own leader (usually the husband). They have their property, and do on it as they choose.
But they also have council of elders, who look out for the community as a whole. Not sure how long they hold those positions.
Also, every Sunday, they gather at one of the communities home, hold service and then socialize, have a meal together.
Recently I think they have had to break up into two or more groups as the community has really grown in the past year or so.

We have an outline for forming up our own local government, with a council, the Amish being such a large community, they would have one or two seats on the board. Like to think we would address that term limit thing to two terms, and then one cannot run again for, say, 5 years.

 

[MOS0231]

Folks need to make sure they have good bicycles with the correct tires for their terrain they will be riding on. Having a small bike cargo trailer is advisable too. Many in America need to change their body!

Agreed.
About a month ago, I stocked up on more inner tubes, water bottles.

 

[rainingcatzanddogs]

Our group outline is much like the Amish model. With heads of households representing each family group. My SIL, also speaks for my FIL and MIL who are getting on in years with mild dementia setting in. BUT…they are also part of a specialized group that works for the betterment of the entire group, not just their own family.

When stressed out, and spending a week together, personalities change. The politeness, disintegrates, masks come off and people get real. Quite often it isn’t pretty.

Unless it is practiced beforehand, it will take time for everyone to let go of petty personal issues, adjust mentally and emotionally to a TEOTWAKI type event. But, will we have the luxury of that time? Probably not.

Outside of representing the needs of their family, each person also needs to have a meaningful purpose assigned to them to keep them busy and start working as a team and towards a big picture for the entire group.

In our group, yourself, children and spouse must become secondary to the needs of the group for it all to work. It is the reverse of the way most of us are used to living and it will be a huge mental switch for most.

When we are at the BOL, rules change. Even the children know this.

As a for instance, all of the children must listen to my DIL. She is in charge of education and helping all of the children to learn how to behave in a more dangerous world. She was agreed upon by all of the parents of young children.

What she says goes, if she spanks a butt and the kid is used to time outs…as she says, tough beans. The parents need to keep their mouth shut. Of course, she will try to discipline with other methods before it comes to that but, quite frankly, some kids just need a swat to get their attention once in a while because nothing else is working and not being able to act in a disciplined manner after SHTF, could be the difference between life and death.

My eldest son, memorized the entire Gettysburg address when he was 8 on the ten minute bus ride home. His IQ is in the 99th percentile across all areas and as the psychologist who evaluated him said, he has never run across a person with an IQ like his that was this “normal” and mentally balanced. He was in the USAF for years as an NCO and possesses many natural leadership qualities including common sense, judgement and the ability to deal with high stress situations without losing reasoning abilities.

Although we have made binders and cataloged books for all of them, he can hit the ground running should anything happen to us. His wife is also very intelligent and in possession of common sense. We have a line of succession.

Our group is split into:

Medical/veterinary/homeopathy

Education/discipline/justice

Horticulture/agriculture/animal husbandry/ herbalism/cooking/nutrition/ food preservation

Procurement/supply and logistics

Hunting and Security

Mechanics/gun smith/construction/electrical/plumbing/welding

Floaters

They are not independent of one another and some positions such as justice are not needed every day. Everyone for instance knows how to use a firearm and at least one other weapon and has a security position/group. Everyone is capable of hauling and filtering water or gathering firewood. Everyone can forage and knows very basic emergency medicine.

In our group we have “floaters” those who have no particular skill sets of any use when SHTF but, are willing and able to follow instructions so will help out wherever the help is needed from day to day. This includes some of the kids over 12 and under 16.

 

[TexPrep]

I like the Amish model.
Each home has its own leader (usually the husband). They have their property, and do on it as they choose.
But they also have council of elders, who look out for the community as a whole. Not sure how long they hold those positions.
Also, every Sunday, they gather at one of the communities home, hold service and then socialize, have a meal together.
Recently I think they have had to break up into two or more groups as the community has really grown in the past year or so.

We have an outline for forming up our own local government, with a council, the Amish being such a large community, they would have one or two seats on the board. Like to think we would address that term limit thing to two terms, and then one cannot run again for, say, 5 years.

I believe the Amish are required to have one years worth of food stored.

I'm kinda on the fence when it comes to bicycles and I was really big into bikes,from my BMX days to riding long distance.
I also worked in a bike shop for several years when I was a youngster.
I cant see bugging out on a bike and leaving all my preps behind. Now if you just wanted one to get around on from your BOL I can see it.
Bikes would be my last choice if I had to leave my home if things were dangerous.You'd be an easy target riding down the interstate or even the backroads.
While it may take a lot longer on foot it'd be safer to walk through the woods along the highway rather than having someone see you coming from a mile away leaving them plenty of time to set up an ambush. You could ride at night but you'd run a high risk of hitting something in the dark.
Walking the interstate wouldnt be a horrible idea at night,it's silent and there's a better chance of hearing someone on the road ahead.

 

[Amish Heart]

We have 3 amish districts where I live. We kind of intersect two of them. The amish do not have to store a year's worth of food, but most do can what they harvest so that they'll have enough till the next growing season. Maybe you're thinking of the LDS church Tex Prep? MOS0231...yep, you're right on about the structure.

 

[MOS0231]

Our group outline is much like the Amish model. With heads of households representing each family group. My SIL, also speaks for my FIL and MIL who are getting on in years with mild dementia setting in. BUT…they are also part of a specialized group that works for the betterment of the entire group, not just their own family.

When stressed out, and spending a week together, personalities change. The politeness, disintegrates, masks come off and people get real. Quite often it isn’t pretty.

Unless it is practiced beforehand, it will take time for everyone to let go of petty personal issues, adjust mentally and emotionally to a TEOTWAKI type event. But, will we have the luxury of that time? Probably not.

Outside of representing the needs of their family, each person also needs to have a meaningful purpose assigned to them to keep them busy and start working as a team and towards a big picture for the entire group.

In our group, yourself, children and spouse must become secondary to the needs of the group for it all to work. It is the reverse of the way most of us are used to living and it will be a huge mental switch for most.

When we are at the BOL, rules change. Even the children know this.

As a for instance, all of the children must listen to my DIL. She is in charge of education and helping all of the children to learn how to behave in a more dangerous world. She was agreed upon by all of the parents of young children.

What she says goes, if she spanks a butt and the kid is used to time outs…as she says, tough beans. The parents need to keep their mouth shut. Of course, she will try to discipline with other methods before it comes to that but, quite frankly, some kids just need a swat to get their attention once in a while because nothing else is working and not being able to act in a disciplined manner after SHTF, could be the difference between life and death.

My eldest son, memorized the entire Gettysburg address when he was 8 on the ten minute bus ride home. His IQ is in the 99th percentile across all areas and as the psychologist who evaluated him said, he has never run across a person with an IQ like his that was this “normal” and mentally balanced. He was in the USAF for years as an NCO and possesses many natural leadership qualities including common sense, judgement and the ability to deal with high stress situations without losing reasoning abilities.

Although we have made binders and cataloged books for all of them, he can hit the ground running should anything happen to us. His wife is also very intelligent and in possession of common sense. We have a line of succession.

Our group is split into:

Medical/veterinary/homeopathy

Education/discipline/justice

Horticulture/agriculture/animal husbandry/ herbalism/cooking/nutrition/ food preservation

Procurement/supply and logistics

Hunting and Security

Mechanics/gun smith/construction/electrical/plumbing/welding

Floaters

They are not independent of one another and some positions such as justice are not needed every day. Everyone for instance knows how to use a firearm and at least one other weapon and has a security position/group. Everyone is capable of hauling and filtering water or gathering firewood. Everyone can forage and knows very basic emergency medicine.

In our group we have “floaters” those who have no particular skill sets of any use when SHTF but, are willing and able to follow instructions so will help out wherever the help is needed from day to day. This includes some of the kids over 12 and under 16.

Well said about how people react in a stressful situation.
I have seen guys who one would fail in the face of distress where one would think they would succeed, while others whom you would think to be a weakling, rise to the occasion.
Dynamics change in times of upheaval. What may have been true pre-SHTF is not always true post-SHTF.
Those whom have been stressed for those like situations tend to fair better than those whom have not. Even then, every person has their breaking point.

Floaters. Give me someone willing to work for their keep any day.

 

[MOS0231]

I believe the Amish are required to have one years worth of food stored.

I'm kinda on the fence when it comes to bicycles and I was really big into bikes,from my BMX days to riding long distance.
I also worked in a bike shop for several years when I was a youngster.
I cant see bugging out on a bike and leaving all my preps behind. Now if you just wanted one to get around on from your BOL I can see it.
Bikes would be my last choice if I had to leave my home if things were dangerous.You'd be an easy target riding down the interstate or even the backroads.
While it may take a lot longer on foot it'd be safer to walk through the woods along the highway rather than having someone see you coming from a mile away leaving them plenty of time to set up an ambush. You could ride at night but you'd run a high risk of hitting something in the dark.
Walking the interstate wouldnt be a horrible idea at night,it's silent and there's a better chance of hearing someone on the road ahead.

I agree, bugging out on a bicycle, while possible, I do not think is a viable solution.
However, having raced Tour de France style in my younger days, a bicycle is nearly silent. Only a person or group with constant watch might get one over on someone on a bicycle.
Then again, our plan to to have secure the local roadways for those walking, or cycling to be able to move about without worries of an ambush. In short, secure our AOO.

 

[MOS0231]

We have 3 amish districts where I live. We kind of intersect two of them. The amish do not have to store a year's worth of food, but most do can what they harvest so that they'll have enough till the next growing season. Maybe you're thinking of the LDS church Tex Prep? MOS0231...yep, you're right on about the structure.

Ah, thank you for validating my observations.
Again, their model seems to be a better plan than others.
I for one, would not want to be in a community where I not only have to work with those on a daily basis, but live with them?
I would shoot somebody.

 

[GeorgiaPeachie]

I cant see bugging out on a bike and leaving all my preps behind. Now if you just wanted one to get around on from your BOL I can see i

My reference to bikes was for getting around to areas at your BOL or Homestead. They will save all kinds of time and burned calories. Going to a Farmers Market to trade won’t be easy walking, but a bike with a cargo trailer would work fine.

 

[TexPrep]

I agree, bugging out on a bicycle, while possible, I do not think is a viable solution.
However, having raced Tour de France style in my younger days, a bicycle is nearly silent. Only a person or group with constant watch might get one over on someone on a bicycle.
Then again, our plan to to have secure the local roadways for those walking, or cycling to be able to move about without worries of an ambush. In short, secure our AOO.

While a bicycle is quiet I wouldnt want to ride during daylight hours. All it would take is for someone to glance down the road.
And if they're set up to ambush people on the road it's almost certain someone is going to see you coming.
The only viable way I could see it working is NVG's and riding at night.

But yeah if you were already at your BOL it would be nice to have a few mountain bikes to patrol an area.
Better yet have some forward observation posts a mile or so out with walkies.You could tell them you were coming to relieve them and they ride the bikes back.

 

[rainingcatzanddogs]

Well said about how people react in a stressful situation.
I have seen guys who one would fail in the face of distress where one would think they would succeed, while others whom you would think to be a weakling, rise to the occasion.
Dynamics change in times of upheaval. What may have been true pre-SHTF is not always true post-SHTF.
Those whom have been stressed for those like situations tend to fair better than those whom have not. Even then, every person has their breaking point.

Floaters. Give me someone willing to work for their keep any day.

I will take this one step further.

If you do not know how you or the person you will be next to will act in a true adrenaline dump situation, depend on nothing. Not successful firearms deployment, not even help. That is the difficulty of putting together an untested group and expecting it to work without experience.

I have seen my ranch hand, youngest and oldest daughter, middle and oldest son, husband, SIL, two friends who have combat experience and brother all in adrenaline dump situations and had to work through the danger with them. The rest of them I can only guess how they will react.

My husband, who is in a leadership role at work, is a mess in hands on life or death situations so has a different role to play. He isn't one to play tough guy when it is something that might put others in danger. I respect him for being honest.

Life threatening situations are different from say the high focus that one might get in competitive sports or even a high pressure event. A true adrenaline dump does crazy things in the brain and everyone reacts a little differently to it. Repetitive training helps but, isn't a guarantee.

 

[lonewolf]

we can all see what is happening around the world what with first the pandemic and now the war in Ukraine which is causing shortages of grain and sunflower oil, and other crisis will evolve given time, anyone who thinks its all a bed of roses and nothing to worry about is an idiot and wont survive for long once things collapse.

 

[Helen Back]

"A friend in need, is a friend indeed"






"The human side" sounds like a far left talking point. Making decisions based on feelings. I won't be helping anyone who hasn't listened or planned/prepared. I did that for the first 40 years of my life and it always seemed to come back to bite me in the arse. Seems those people will never do anything except expect others to help them. If they are expected to do something in return for YOUR generosity, they just feel exploited. My coworkers grumble about how much money the owner has, and how little he pays (not true for the work). I tell them to start their own business and they can hire employees from which they can make money. It is never met well. Most just don;t get what hard work and success entails.

 

[lonewolf]

looks like a laughing hyena!!!

 

[lonewolf]

a friend in need is a pain in the butt!!