I’ve worked out that there are two kinds of prepping, two are closely related but my preferred one is very different to the others.
The first two are about stockpiling supplies and medicines and hunkering down and waiting either for things to get much worse or waiting for things to return to normal. Neither of these can be sustained forever and neither are really suitable to the rapid change and evolution that is upon us. They rely on the very structures of individualism, power through force or wealth and even authoritarianism (in these cases, the prepper becomes the dictator in their own little kingdom…until someone more powerful comes along and takes it away from them).
Both of those options are expensive, draining, isolating and time limited. That makes them ultimately futile.
The option I want to explore is one of prepping to help each other ride through the change. This means learning to work together, to learn about an understand loss and grief but to ultimately bring about a new and better world (better unless you’re a billionaire in their bunker).
Oh yeah, there is one other kind of prepping, so silly that it’s laughable. That one is all about running away off world to Mars (the Musk approach) or Big space stations (the Bezos plan). Its silly because it is exactly what I said it is, running away. It is a way to keep exploiting and ruining our planet and people while distancing oneself physically from the danger. Its like bunkers in space and who would get to be in those bunkers? Mega-rich folks who would still need labourers and servants and so would re-create exactly the society that we have now or worse because they would be in absolute control of their slaves (which is all less wealthy folks would be). Same in the big bunkers, with their servants and security forces.
But here we are, you and I, the common folk. Maybe if we ALL got together and pulled our resources we could achieve something similar but how big of a bunker would you need for seven billion people? A planet-sized one! And who would you exclude. Let’s make our community our bunker, make care our security and love our armour.
We could then start to deal with the physical, societal and spiritual evolution that is upon us. Most of us can come out of the other side better for it, though ‘other side’ is a bit of a misnomer, this is a process, one that will continue for decades if not longer, so lets start getting ready now.
How do we start?
Well, preppers do have an answer in stockpiling food but, rather than pile up five years of beans (can you imagine the smell in the bunker after a while…phew!), get together as much as you can, a couple of days supply if it is possible but don’t go mad. We’re talking about surviving, if not thriving in a transition period. There will of course be a transition period of unrest, chaos and even violence but hopefully it will be brief enough that the survivors can get back on their feet quickly and start supporting each other.
Store a few days, weeks or whatever you feel you need, than store a days supply for someone else. It doesn’t have to be 3 course meals but what you think is enough to keep someone else alive for a day. If you’re not financial or in a position where you can store stuff, just source 1 item specifically to give away. If everyone who can afford it does this, then an equal amount of people will be able to survive for a day longer. Of course, the hard thing will be facing the fear of scarcity for ourselves and actually sharing that food but it is a challenge that we will grow greatly by overcoming. There will be scammers, liars and thieves, so be on your guard about who you share with. It’ll be a lesson in judgment and making the hard call but you will grow through it. You can stash away more for more people if you have the means.
I picked one day’s sharing supply because, if you have the means to stock up a little, you can add a little more at relatively little expense and the extra won’t make you a target. Don’t advertise that you have it either, just share with someone when the opportunity comes around. And don’t give your stuff away immediately. People will remain relatively well fed for a couple of days and may gorge in panic in the early stages. This’ll give you the chance to watch and see who are still bad folks and find someone you think is more deserving. As I said, this is THE hard call but it will be one you will bee called on to make many times.
As you stock for yourself, consider shared pantries or neighbourhood community pantries. I’ll go into that a lot in a later post but for now, it’s about getting yourself and maybe someone else through. That’s where self care comes in.
Not self care as in Lavender oil baths with rose petal facials but looking after yourself. There will be shock, fear and grief in the early stages of the transformation but imagine how your body will be after three days of little or no sleep and body full of stress hormones. Cranky, tired, starting to make poor decisions, that’s how we’ll be.
Some herbs to keep you sane
Liver support is key. Our liver not only helps metabolise food but it breaks down those stress hormones that would otherwise build up in us and contribute to sickness and crankiness. In TCM and some Western Herbalist schools of thought, our Liver is the organ associated with the free flow of energy. It is also associated with the emotion of anger that arises when that free flow of energy stagnates or is blocked. This means that our wonderful Liver is to be supported at all costs. Another take away is that our Liver breaks down many of those nasty preservatives that may be in the food that you’ve stored.
Looking after your Liver is an act of self love.
Associated with Anger is the Bach Flower, Holly. Taking a few drops as recommended throughout each day can help keep things flowing. Willow is the one for when that anger has fermented into resentment, as may happen after a few days without proper sleep, hygiene or company. Both of those can help you cope just a little better. Neither will turn you into a saint but at a time when good decisions must be made and our hearts kept open, they will definitely help.
Anxiety is another massive drain on one’s health and energy, and the sleeplessness associated with it reduces our body’s capacity to heal itself. The anxiety of the situation, can be reduced in some way by herbs. In the early days of whatever is happening, I recommend lighter, yet powerful herbs such as Lemon Balm, Chamomile or Passionflower (not yet covered on this website). While these help with sleeplessness, they are not strongly sedating and can help reduce stress and anxiety without clouding your judgement by making you drowsy. Taking them as a tea or infusion helps keep your hydration up too. These three herbs (especially the first two) also support our Liver.
When it is safe to sleep, more sedating herbs can be used such as Hops or Valerian (I always tell folks to use caution with Valerian if they’ve not used it before, it can make some folks agitated and even angry).
To keep your body in a slightly better nutritional state, Nettles is a winner, it’s got pretty well everything we need in it. Add to that Purslane if it’s in season or you’ve managed to preserve some and you have a powerhouse of nutrition. Purslane also has fatty acids that your body can be used to make and transport hormones (it’ll probably be running out of the resources needed to make them after a couple of days). Fish Oil can be used too to help in this work. The advantage of these two herbs is that they grow freely and abundantly and, if you start prepping early, you can stock up on something that many people wouldn’t even know was food, so may turn it down if offered or not steal if you are unfortunately attacked.
Schussler Tissue Salts are a useful additive to your pantry. They’re cheap, store forever and look just like medicine so may not get nicked by people looking for food. They are a wonderful way to help your cells absorb nutrients better. Also, because they’re so cheap, you can freely give some away. I’ll be writing a lot about these in the future but for now, if you’re interested, just get the Combination 12 that has all 12 salts in each tablet and let your body work out which it needs. You can also add them to the food and water of your livestock and pets if you are lucky to have such companions. Remember, we’re not building bunkers here, we want to maintain good mental and spiritual health for the journey ahead, so pets can be an asset.
There’ll be a couple more of these posts as time goes on. Feel free to dip into any of the pages on this website and share the info with family, friends or even enemies – we’re all in this together. If you see fit, subscribe and pay a little to keep this website up and running and free in a world that is rapidly changing. I’m working overtime at the moment updating the information on the herb pages and adding new herbs , so check back frequently.
If you’re finding this information useful, share it with your community
If you’re finding this information useful, share it with your community
Other herb pages on Ligaya Garden
We cover a lot of ground on many herb related topics here on our website. There are whole pages devoted to different topics as well as frequent posts. Some of the links are –
