Category: Survival Mindset

Resisting Thought Control – Pt. 5, by Cyclops

(Continued from Part 4..) Name Calling It never feels good to be called a name, particularly if it is an unjust accusation. It is one of the reasons that the fear of being thought of poorly is a powerful manipulative tool, as mentioned in the preceding “Fear section”. During Covid, some public voices were openly hostile to those who did not get the vaccine. CNN’s Don Lemon was one of these personalities. Lemon would launch into tirades showed unrelenting ridicule, disdain, and a lack of concern for anyone who would even think of not agreeing with the prevailing narrative. He …


Resisting Thought Control – Pt. 4, by Cyclops

(Continued from Part 3.) Shifting Definitions The person who controls the definitions of words, controls the thoughts of the people. Orwell knew this well as he crafted his dystopian novel, “1984”. In that story, the ruling “Party” used “Newspeak” to control language and definitions to limit the subjects’ ability to think and communicate about ideas that went against the Party. In the allegory, “Animal Farm”, also by Orwell, citizens endured a set of definitions that constantly shifted to suit the leader’s lust for power. For example, the phrase, “all animals are equal” shifted into “some animals are more equal than …


Resisting Thought Control – Pt. 3, by Cyclops

(Continued from Part 2.) Denial is a form of selective information. If you can’t succeed in limiting the information that a brainwashing subject takes in, at the very least you can deny that the information they have received is true. Now many politicians and agencies are denying some of the actions they openly demonstrated during the Covid frenzy. In an October 1, 2023 Substack publication, attorney Bobbie Anne Cox outlines just a few of the reversals that public figures are attempting now that more information has come out about the lack of effectiveness of masks and/or Covid “vaccines.” What came …


Resisting Thought Control – Pt. 2, by Cyclops

(Continued from Part 1.) FEAR We are hard-wired to avoid things that ignite fear. This is a central aspect of reward/punishment conditioning that is central to the way humans learn about and adapt to our surroundings. The adrenaline-induced panic that we experience in a fight or flight response is a physical reaction that helps us learn how to survive, and is ingrained in our genes. But this aspect of our biology makes us vulnerable to those who want to manipulate us through fear. The level of fear that can sway our values and behavior need not be extreme, such as …


The 21st Century Geopolitical Chessboard

As we approach the end of 2023, I’ve been assessing world events. In short: The world is an increasingly dangerous place. There are numerous current threats, most notably: The Western debt-based financial system is overextended and nearing a collapse. The rise of the BRICS bloc. Pandemics are being used as weapons to reduce population, control citizenries, and as excuses for a wide range of social engineering projects. Note that Avian Flu is still spreading and a new pneumonia strain broke out in northern China, and it is already jumping national borders. There is also a new canine respiratory illness and …


Musical Instrument Basics for Preppers, by Kirk

The following are my thoughts on a topic that was suggested for the SurvivalBlog writing competition: This is a very broad topic. Does it mean the instruments themselves or the use and playing of them? Or perhaps it means how to choose one or how to master one? Does it pertain to what to have when SHTF or TEOTWAWKI? Are you at home, or on the road? Do you have room for a larger instrument or is your space limited? Do we start with the neophyte who is thinking about possibly getting into playing an instrument but is not sure …


Transformative Tech: The AR, The Glock, and The Smartphone

In this brief essay, I’ll be discussing three relatively new technologies that have been nearly as transformative to modern society as Gutenberg’s 1448 invention of the movable type printing press. The AR The Armalite Rifle (AR) family of selective fire and semi-auto rifles, pistols, and shotguns have become ubiquitous in the early 21st Century. They have been produced for the U.S. civilian market since 1959. There are an estimated two million new ARs produced each year for private use by American families. There are now roughly 20 million in residential closets and gun safes. Many of those ARs have changed …


Some Last-Minute Purchases and Preps – Part 2, by M.M.

(Continued from Part 1.  This concludes the article.) #6   12-volt deep cycle batteries and at least two battery charges. (I prefer the 2-,6-, and 10-Amp chargers. I do have a 50-amp charger, but it is hard on a battery. The slower the charge, the better the life expectancy of the battery). These are extremely important and are actually my #2 priority item only after fuel. Get several if they are available. You can build a light system for your property using 12-volt lights or buy an inverter that switches to A/C  use. For outside lighting go to an RV/off-road store …


The Importance of Good Record Keeping, by Hollyberry

It is very important to keep accurate records of purchases, insurance polices, banking information, and other useful data. Organizing and maintaining files are not something most people (including myself) like to do but it makes life easier in the end. A little extra time on the front end saves a lot of time on the back end. It’s much easier to be organized than to spend half a day trying to locate one document that you desperately need. If you are lucky enough to find old family journals or family Bibles, read them! They are a wealth of information. The …


Thinking About Resilience, by C.H. in Kansas

Introduction I would like to direct this article to new SurvivalBlog readers. Perhaps you were referred here by a friend or coworker. Perhaps you stumbled into SurvivalBlog through an internet search. However you arrived, if you’ve taken the time to poke around, you may be overwhelmed by the abundance of information on preparedness both here and at other sites. As of this writing, the war between Hamas and Israel has entered its third week. The death toll continues to rise. Dead and wounded among the victims—the Israeli citizens and other nationals—number in the thousands. Violent demonstrations against the US have …


12 Basic Actions To Make It Through The First 12 Weeks of TEOTWAWKI – Part 1, by Michael X.

Is TEOTWAWKI imminent? I do not know. But things are slipping toward it happening soon. Will it be a violent, giant crash, like one involving many cars on the turnpike, or will it be a quiet breakdown along the side of a deserted country road? For myself, at this point, I am not thinking it will be a catastrophic, instantaneous crash caused by nuclear war, an EMP, asteroids, or alien invasion. More likely, I think it could be a slow slide that will catch people off guard until it is finally too late to get the basics in place. This …


Rebuilding: The Role of the Post-TEOTWAWKI Librarian, by W.J.

What will be missing during the great reconstruction of America after TEOTWAWKI is the knowledge of how to do it.  Those wonderful how-tos on YouTube will no longer be available unless people have electricity and they have systematically stored them as offline video files.  That will be very few people. There is an occupation that rarely gets mentioned that will be of immense value: Librarian.  With your own library.  Books. Books on how to do everything imaginable, starting with the basics.  How to grow food and care for livestock, obviously,  How to build with stone.  How to do carpentry with …


Post-TEOTWAWKI Community and Employment – Part 1, by 3AD Scout

Humans are no strangers to catastrophe. Through the centuries, civilizations across the earth have succumbed to volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, floods, plagues, and crop failures. Regardless of where this took place, or the people it affected, there was a rebuilding of society and life went on. For many of us, we focus on surviving the immediate effects of disaster or catastrophe, but few focus on what comes next, the recovery or rebuilding phase. Just like being prepared to survive the immediate impacts of an incident starts in the years long before the disaster ever strikes, so does preparing for rebuilding our …


Some Lessons Learned in Israel’s Kibbutzim

Like most other Americans, I have been closely watching the recent events in Israel.  I traveled there once, as a tourist, for several weeks. On that family trip, we drove up to the northern border with Lebanon, and all the way south to Eilat, on the Red Sea’s Gulf of Aqaba. My wife (Avalanche Lily) has studied Hebrew for many years, and she has traveled to Israel more than a dozen times. In all, she has spent more than three years in Israel. So for us, watching the Israel-Hamas War brings back a lot of our travel memories. Lily lived …


Downsizing: Back to Farm Basics, by SaraSue

Things can change overnight, and recently, they have.  In my opinion, we have entered WWIII.  We don’t know yet how bad it’s going to be. But what we do know is that things are heading south, fast. There is no way to rationalize that we Americans are “going to be okay” with what is happening on the world stage. Not to mention, how quickly goods and services have degraded here at home.  You’d have to have your head stuck so deeply in a sand dune that you can’t get it out.  It is better to stand up and face reality …