CONTEMPLATING THE SURVIAL SITUATION

It’s true that most survival books out there, and any television show you watch nowadays are geared more towards temporary survival situations. Basically, how fast and efficient can you get yourself out of danger or what they so call a “hostile” environment. I think that sometimes we are taught the wrong thing. That nature is something to fear, and someplace where we might get lost, starve, or even die.

Most books will often even go so far to breakdown the word “SURVIVAL” and try to assign cliché statements to each letter of the word, thus making it into some sort of acronym. Of course, obtaining water, procuring fire, and building shelter are all essential elements of survival. But what about your own mental attitude and thoughts on survival? Basically it all boils down to how tough you are mentally and what you are willing sacrifice, wants verses needs.

I in particular am a very big fan of survivalists such as Matt Graham, Ed Stafford, and John McPherson whose approach to survival is for the long term. Because of this, their attitude toward survival skills is more geared to progressing as a person rather than developing an attitude that is against nature. I don’t believe that any survivalist or human being for that matter should go against nature, mentally or physically. The purpose is the journey, not the destination. The Native Americans adopted this attitude and were always thankful toward what they called the “Great Spirit.” In more modern times, we often hear a different term, “Mother Nature” or “Mother Earth.”

CHRISTIAN BELIEF AND THE GREAT MOTHER EARTH

Okay, so before I begin writing this section, I want to state that I am by no means trying to cause a religious debate, but I just want to share with others my ideas about what I think “God” really is. If there is such a thing as trying to figure out what or who God is. The most important thing is to have that relationship.

First of all, I am a Christian. I go to church and pray and give thanks to what I believe to be an all-powerful and omnipotent God. But, I think most Christians view God as an all-powerful male entity that controls and pre-determines everyone’s destiny. I don’t necessarily believe this mainstream model view of what God is. Even in the Bible, God is often referred to as “Him” or “He” in the male gender. So then, what is God? And what does my personal belief of God have to do with survival skills?

Personally, I believe that God is more than just a deity, personified by tiny human thought. There really is no way to put a belief in a jar and call it God. To me God is the Universe, God is the ultimate computer controlling and knowing everything, and God is nature and our surroundings. If you ask me, I really do believe that the Native Americans got it right the first time. And before God was attributed the masculine gender, ancient religions and pagan cultures were more concerned with worshiping the sacred feminine as being the most prominent. Only within the last few hundred years have people started to uphold God as a male authority. And so the Bible was translated into English adopting that mindset. So, if you ask me, I feel as if “Mother Nature” is not far from the actual truth of what God is, and of course, beyond what a human mind can comprehend. Do you ever try to explain yourself to a cockroach?

So, what does all this have to do with survival? Survival is a mindset. We should never go out thinking that we are going to kick Mother Nature in the teeth. We should never look at survival as being something to overcome. These beliefs are all based on misunderstanding. We should look at survival as something to embrace and a journey to enjoy. Nature is your “mother” who provides, feeds you when you’re hungry, and gives you warmth when you’re cold. If we develop a negative attitude, we will never get what we need to survive. God puts before every living being, life and death. Which will you choose? If we adopt an attitude that everything will be provided, we have the chance to succeed.

CHILDLIKE BEING

I choose to go out and practice mental toughness, to not complain and do something about what un-comforts I am experiencing. I choose to be curious and harmonious. To be proactive about getting what is needed, and never ever give up. To be childlike in my endeavors. I think that being childlike even as an adult in my middle ages is one of the most important attitudes I can embrace. As a child, I often explored the environment around where I grew up, practiced making shelters, and hiking further and further into new areas that I knew nothing about. I never even became worried if I was on someone else’s property because I was so overwhelmed with exploring something new. I enjoyed the solitude and oneness I had with nature. Getting lost in the wild I felt was the epitome of ultimate bliss. A challenge that I lived for!

My advice to everyone or anyone reading this is to get out there and practice. Not only survival skills, but practice being in harmony with everything around you. Practice learning everything you can about a particular plant or animal. Be curious. I intend to practice as often as I can, and to bring myself beyond what my current capabilities as a survivalist are. Lately, I have tried two attempts at making fire via bow drill (more on this later), but I failed both times. I will be taking a 2 day class in September that will cover the basics of survival, so I hope to learn more about what I did wrong, and I will be eager to share what I have learned with anyone who wants to read.

NOW LIVING

At the beginning of 2014, I read an interesting book by author Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now. It was one of the most interesting books I have ever read, and it had a definite impact on my life. While the book is too elaborate to explain everything here, I will just mention a few strong points as it pertains to survival. Many of the beliefs and opinions stressed in the book coincide with what I believe about God or “Great Mother Earth” as I like to call Her.

One major thing that Jesus ever said in the Gospel of Matthew is this: “And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?” Has anyone reading ever experienced how your mind goes crazy with thought when you all of a sudden find you are faced with some problem or difficulty? Or sometimes it’s like your mind keeps changing the channel, spinning stories about yourself or others. This is what Eckhart Tolle calls “The Ego.” The egocentric mind makes up an identity that you come to believe yourself to be. This is simply not the truth, and the “story” is not your true self.

Going back to what Jesus said in the Gospel of Matthew is what He was referring to as the egocentric mind. Now, putting that into the context of survival breeds a recipe for disaster. Losing yourself in the wilderness in such a way will waste precious time and energy. Instead, try to embrace what Eckhart Tolle refers to as the “Now.” This moment here and now is the most important, and it is the only true happiness that one can experience in this daily life. Listen to your surroundings, watch every detail of what your hands are doing, and concentrate on seeing every moment unfold before your eyes. Block out thoughts and anything the mind conjures up, and become the silent watcher. Be as if you are a cat (your true self) watching the mouse hole (the mind). When a though pops out of the hole, dismiss it immediately and keep living in the moment.

The ancients called this way of living true enlightenment, and fortunately in our modern times there are various ways to access it such as exercise, meditation, prayer and relaxation techniques. Whatever you can do to access the “now,” do it. It will help you not only in survival situations, but also in any life endeavors. Keep working, be diligent, and just live for every moment. It is okay to have goals and dreams, but don’t dwell on them. You will find by thoughtless effort in the present time, you will enjoy every moment of life and before you know it, goals and milestones will be reached.

For me personally, I would like to share that I will be trying to perform meditation every evening before bed as a way to get in touch with the present moment. For that purpose, I would like to share this YouTube link which I think best explains how to go about meditation:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0rSmxsVHPE

At first I will see if I can do this for a few minutes every day, and then gradually fold it in to my daily routine for well-being. If it works and benefits me, I will keep my readers posted. What I really like about the video is that the narrator explains that meditation is the way to access “cosmic energy,” which in turn is what I believe to be energy and healing from God.

 

FINAL THOUGHTS

Your mental capabilities and attitude can be exercised anytime and anywhere. In conclusion, I would like to share a few exercises from another survivalist that I admire, Tom Brown Jr. These are all summarized and put into my own words, but coincide with what I have written herein.

1. Surviving Difficulties – The next time you have a problem or a concern, try to watch yourself and how you react to them. Become the “silent watcher” and don’t try to make any judgments on how you respond. If your reactions are negative, slowly try to change and become stronger by overcoming the difficulty through positive thought and perseverance. Enjoy the challenge and be in the moment when you are in the middle of solving the hardship. You will slowly develop a better attitude when problems arise, and over time, problems will become easier and easier to overcome.
2. Constant Exploration – As mentioned before, be childlike in your endeavors. Be curious! Not only read books about survival, but pick up and read fiction and non-fiction books. Read like a “beast” devouring anything you can. Subscribe to a magazine you find interesting and read every issue cover to cover. Spend more time outside, especially at night. Study the stars and how they move throughout the seasons. Look at the plants and the birds and observe how they live and worry about nothing.
3. Be In The “Now” – Notice how your energy level plummets when you jump from thought to thought. Instead, learn how to harness your concentration. Imagine yourself unable to worry about past or future. Be in the present moment. Observe and feel every moment and feel the connection between the trees, the rocks, the animals, and all the universe. Feel how they will feed your energy and invigorate your life.

 Well that’s all I have for now. Hopefully it was helpful and inspiring. I will be adding new pages soon with projects and goals that I am working on. Stay tuned, until next time!

Please add any comments you have below, and I will try to respond to them as often as I can. Thank you!