Logic is a part of survival

[Lythocrist]

Hi all, Lythocrist here. I've been reading a lot of the preparation stuff. While most of it seems relevant, some things seemed a bit 'off'? I could say. The following are some of my tips and advice, broken into two categories. I won't delve TOO far into details about certain things. If you're here in this forum, you are likely one of those who seeks their own information, when it comes to details.

Established Survival:

You're not going anywhere. The only time you plan to leave is to gather food, and maby trade supplies with others in the area.
This is likely the best option, especially if you are in rural areas, and can gather your own food water and tools without government 'help'.

Food may or may not be a problem. But having dietary supplements won't hurt anything. You simply can't 'live' off of grass or boiled tree bark alone. (Yes a bit extreme, but was just an example.)

Water... If you live in a completely dry climate and have no access to water... On average, Humans can live two weeks without food. Three 'days' without water.

Shelter is a big concern...Unless your house is still standing.

Outfitting your establishment with ways to filter water is the main point. You need water and will DIE without it. and if you can't filter or boil it..."Water water everywhere and not a drop to drink."

Nomadic Survival:

Get an army survival guide, no joke. It doesn't even have to be military issue, there are MANY survival guides available, and they are full of ways to filter water, catch/grow food, the list goes on.


A few things from me:

It is probably a good idea to learn how to make some tools, or train your mind to think abstractly when it comes to innovation. If you are out in the wilderness and your 12 inch blade on your knife breaks in half. Don't leave the things to rust. Make a spear out of the piece that broke off. Surviving is common sence and logic. Don't waste ANYTHING, save EVERYTHING.

I would say your most valued tool is a knife, or bladed object. Something light and comfortable to hold. Big bulky survival knives are often cumbersome and more work than they save. For hunting I would recommend a bow/arrow. If Marshall law was up, and 'they' heard gunshots...Hopefully you hit your target and are already GONE. Also...Bullets have to be made. A sharp stick hurled by a bow is cheaper and easier to come by, and quiet...

If anyone has any questions about tool making, metalworking, or wilderness survival, please don't hesitate to ask in private message or even email.

Peace&Love

[undetected]

I'm glad to see a thread talking about logic. I'm seeing too much stuff here overflowing with love but often lacking logic. Not saying there's anything wrong with love but you need both.

I'm a bit concerned about advices like "don't worry, have no fear, just emit love and trust that things will be ok and it will work out." This might work for one group of people - the kind that has figured out the basic spiritual stuff years ago, people who are at peace with themselves, understand how everything in the universe connects, know what's really going on on this planet, aren't dependent on things like TV, cars, cell phones, etc.
That includes me. I'm not afraid of anything, I'm well informed, prepared mentally and spiritually, and even physically quite fit. I'm not making any big plans. I know my ability to survive is 10-20 times higher than of most people I meet on the streets.

But let's look at the other group - people who are "new to this," who have lived most of their life the way most people do - wake up, go to work, get back, eat, watch TV, sleep.... just don't think too much and act like everything is ok. Only recently they woke up to the notion that something's awfully rotten on the planet Earth.
Now, telling THESE people "don't worry, have no fear, just emit love and trust that things will be ok and it will work out" seems pretty irresponsible to me. With no prior mental & spiritual preparation and no experience with alternative lifestyles this advice might prove fatal.

So here a bit of logic for anyone interested...

FEAR
By all means I agree fear is a bad and impractical emotion, get rid of it if you can. However caution and carefullness are very practical, so note the difference. Any steps you take to prepare for whatever you think might come, should be based on precaution, not fear. Fear may drive you into many weird and irrational things, precaution is a matter of logic.
Many people you meet on this forum have lived without any fear for years. If you are NOT one of them, don't expect the fear to disappear overnight. That's unlikely to happen. But try your best to fight it and gradually eliminate it. And don't let it impair your judgement. Knowledge and understanding may be the best guides to help you fight fear.

FOOD
This is very simple in terms of logic. If you CAN stock up some food that will last a year or two, why not do that? If bad times don't come, you lose nothing, you can still eat it any time you want. Obviously if bad times do come, having some food stored will definitely be better than having nothing.
So, I'm not saying you need supplies for 5 years, just consider your location, finances etc. and take some reasonable measures. Better be safe than sorry.

PLACE TO LIVE
I don't expect most people to have a chance to move somewhere else, whether for financial or other reasons. So if that would be a problem, you'll just have to do your best wherever you are. But you should at least know your area well, water supplies, possible places to get food, and also knowing the people.
I don't really know what to expect as for the weather changes etc, I've heard many different things. Some areas, like coastal, or even countries, may be in more danger than others according to many sources. If you think you're in a bad place and have a chance to move to a better one, it's worth considering. However with the economic collapse already happening, selling and buying houses is probably an unfavorable and tricky business right now [at least in the US I guess] so... better be careful with that.
In general I don't support this moving thing much, unless you have a really good chance to move to a clearly safer place and really feel like doing it. Otherwise just stay wherever and make the best of it. No one knows precisely what will come and where, and I think every place has a chance.

OTHER "THINGS"
With the economy going down the toilet, if you have money, I would advise to buy anything you think could be useful, because those things will most likely be worth more than money soon enough. And if not, you'll still have usefull things so again, no loss. Just imagine what you might need in the next few years, and imagine you might not be able to buy it later [apart from money losing value there may be a problem with the actual availability of the stuff]. You will definitely need clothes and shoes, can't go wrong buying those. Sounds trivial now, but it won't be as trivial when and IF [may not happen but IF] you realize your last pair of "good" shoes is falling apart and shops are empty or the prices are beyond your reach. Again logic, you can't go wrong with buying a pair of good shoes, while, should things go really bad, something as ordinary as good shoes may be worth fortune.
Think about anything that you've thought for a long time you should buy and never got to it, anything your house is missing. You may have your last chance of getting it [at least for a decent price]. Make sure you have all basic home tools etc. Just imagine a 2 week power outage and no water supply and think of what you'd do. It may never happen [let's hope so] but it also might. Will you be able to make it on your own for 2 weeks? Cause who will help you when everyone has the same problem? And it's not that hard to prepare yourself for 2 weeks of complete self-sufficiency. Even if no war starts or anything, these things will be helpful in cases of earthquakes, tornados, or just a couple of things going wrong at the same time.

Weapons?
I don't support the idea of "preparing yourself" for something with weapons, expecially guns. On the other hand, a good knife has many uses. If you're capable of hunting and live in an area where the idea is sensible, other weapons could be useful too. But as for possible protection from wild and unreasonable people, try to think of other solutions first. Like avoiding them in the first place. Guns really tend to cause more problems than solve.
But hey, if some government experiment goes wrong [or maybe right] and you see zombies crawling around your house, yeah, get some weapons...

All in all, the point is not to get ready for some catastrophic scenario, but rather to be prepared for possible emergencies. Calmly, without fear. Like I said, the logic in it is, that you lose nothing by being prepared, but you might lose a lot if you're not.

[johnconnor]

[QUOTE=Lythocrist;26344]Hi all, Lythocrist here. I've been reading a lot of the preparation stuff. While most of it seems relevant, some things seemed a bit 'off'? I could say.

I have also noticed that some preparations are..odd, to say the least. I have seen posts by people stockpiling sacks of rice with no thought to where to get fresh water from. At least he can use the sacks as bean bags so he's comfortable as he starves.

I think nomadic survival will be the initial outcome before survivors find each other. Stockpiling 5 years worth of food is no good if you can't transport it. Other posts I have seen have detailed how "survivors" are purchasing chemical toilets. Good luck carrying that through the countryside.

Too many people are rying to turn their homes into a Millets store. The most important piece of survival equipment is the mind, the current preparations remind me of the old No Fear slogan- "He who dies with the most toys, still dies"