What is self sufficiency and can i learn to be self sufficient?

Is self sufficiency when you are able to grow your own food? Does being self sufficient mean you dont rely on others anymore? What benefits are there to self sufficiency? ok - the biggest question of all is what does self sufficiency mean to everyone?

Now, having spent a good morning and year thinking about how I can be more self sufficient whilst at the same time trying to teach the people around me about self sufficiency in the home or garden, it dawned on me that the so called 'real' world which we live and work and play in, is not the same as this 'self sufficient' world we aspire to be yet, even with that in hindsight you could say we just relentlessly take strolls in the matrix and then come back for a good evenings gossip on what happened in the matrix with our friends at the pub or bar.

Ok thats a generalisation but the point is - we live in a place where either a service is operated by a human behind a till or a waiting desk, or we rely on another person to bring us that nice cool beer or serve us food at a restaurant, we may even rely on the public transport driver to bring us to our destination (Shock gasp I do take public transport from time to time - but more on why i dont later). In our world - the current system of thought determines the outcome of our society, yet what we WANT clashes with what we have and what we want to do.... and what we'd like to do... all of this clashes with what we NEED to do.

Is it getting confusing yet? well hold on and stick with me - we're nearly there to the point. Some of you bright sparks would ask... so what do we want, what do we like and what do we need?

Firstly I'd like to point out self sufficiency is not a way of life, it is a way to become more knowledgeable in all the processes we need in our daily lives, from being able to 'put up' shelter, to providing food for ourselves, to making or using tools so that we can then move on to create bigger and more elaborate tools or devices which then save time and ultimately saves us money. Actually in fact it saves us time from 'finding money' to spending or creating new things with the money we have, in my case i've created my own vegetable and herb garden - which now is bearing fruit :). Check back to read this article - I will announce soon as its done.

Self Sufficiency - Water 4 fuel

I've been toying around with this idea for some time now - hell I've even got off my backside, patted myself down and got the research done, infact its been ongoing and for 2 years now I've learnt some fascinating stuff... the thing is its not even remotely got anything to do with the reason why I started out trying to find out about it.

My first inclination was based upon one thing and one thing only, that was the prices of fuel was going up and I needed a quick idea to get me places without costing me so much, I'm the kind of person who likes to know how things work and just so that I can have a self sufficient way of doing it myself aswell as having the convieniance of getting it from the shops, but I've got to say this has got to be one of the most self sufficient type ideas i've come across in ages.

NOW... there are alot of sites out there which ridicule the idea and have not tested out the devices themselves and start using so called 'logical' arguments to rebuke this technology - BUT I ASK WHAT DID THIS TECHNOLOGY EVER DO TO YOU  (Hahahaha)  ok - if you guys want to be the defender of the consumer and bringers of truth, then seriously do it properly and ALSO bring evidence to the table, there are now more people by the week coming back telling people that their fuel economy has gone up - the only puzzling thing is not 'does this thing actually work or is it a scam?' but why is everyone getting different levels of improvement?

Having tried this technology out and having finally developed our own version of this device - we can now finally say that we are indeed getting a 20-40% saving on our fuel bill (actually we made a few more adjustments besides and efie and got around 60% but this is not what the usual car owner does, its actually keeping the motor constantly tuned and in shape instead of doing it services to it or getting someone else or a garage to do it for you, we know abit abour our motors so we had the choice of waiting for other people to try this or we'd take that bold move and get a piece of the action!)

Just want to get a feel for what you guys want to know about this technology and what you would like to do with it - I will be setting up a forum or at least start using my blog more to give quick comments and have a few chats and debates on the stuff i mention here. If anyone would like to start the ball rolling - head off to http://www.squidoo.com/Environmental-Self-Sufficiency to start talking with me - lets use the comments first until i can find something more fitting!

Self sufficiency related questions can be directed there or anything you'd like to know about or even to talk about specific things like this Water for fuel project or how to get one into your own car. If you have any questions at at all just pop on by and drop a comment :)

Anyway back to this - I wanted to be self sufficient so I managed to build my own type of cell whilst being able to circumvent the more time consuming problems which everyone else bumped into - the problem is - everyone thinks Ozzie Freedom is a crank but at the same time his book did touch upon some solid ideas which set me in motion too - I dont like his Cell design so much but its the knowledge of how to build such a system with the basic idea of flash back protection, system setup and ideas on putting the hydrogen into the car. The whole HHO scene is abuzz with lots of information yet not alot about how to really put one in a car - infact its not that hard but the hardest part is trying to find the formula to making an efficient cell which neither heats the water or degrades its performance over time. In the coming weeks we hope to be bringing you a product which has undergone testing on a live vehicle and has achieved consistent savings during its 6 months of operation.  Being self sufficient is fine but we decided to be less dependant on nasty fuel - infact our next post will be about the virtues of this technology.

If you'd like to learn more about how to be self sufficient with your own vehicle hop off to that blog and see whats new about HHO and stuff!

Self Sufficiency

Self Sufficiency has been a long term goal of Africa or at least it should've been a long term goal, set long ago, when the first charities got there and started to mess about or fix things up depending on what side of the coin your looking at when you flipped it...

Ok lets not throw words about - Africa has made progress ableit slowly and not equally in all the states/countries on the continent of Africa. But at least a charity called 'Zikomo' http://www.zikomo.org/ is trying to make a big difference, they are not a 'run of the mill' charity with nice words to give and big splashy adverts for you to see on your computer or TV screen, but a small organisation based in Ireland which is using the donations they recieve to make the Malawi people gain self sufficiency through education/training and starting up small yet very important self sufficiency projects such as providing a Malaria treatment programme in place thus enabling medical treatment and training to be administered.

Other projects such as Bee's Keeping and making that project self sufficient are discussed in their blog which is informative as to the progress of their projects and the latest self sufficiency project on hand - the best part is - they always give you an idea on how far they have come and how the people will benefit. For example, their honey project is now in a bind as they are not so good at Bee Keeping and require training, but hopefully someone would be able to come up with a solution.

For those who are interested in starting their own Honey Bee hive and want to learn as a beginner quickly have a look at this ebook on beginners bee keeping - I've also drop them a link on this book as it would be great to see a nation drag itself away from food aid and started to really provide not just for itself but for the world as a whole, we now have the technology and most IMPORTANTLY the generosity and compassion to not only travel to far distant places to help people, but now we want them to become more self sufficient, by helping them gain self sufficiency we alleviate the burden of having to ship food and medicines - but it allows the aid workers and people to really start on projects which make a difference, basic necessities is a must but the bigger project is to get past the small details - which we take for granted and think its a god given right to use or abuse as we please in the western hemisphere (not exactly true but we'll battle over this at a later post. . The Ed.) But ultimately by helping them gain self sufficiency, they can join us in alleviating poverty and FEEDING the world as a result of improving their infrastructure and environment.

Zikomo may not have said that on their website but its a grand idea that just makes too much sense. Its not a matter of saying "this aint my country so I dont care about them"... This is your planet, you live on it, and there is no 'Spare' one to buy or move to if we break this one.

If you are interested in what they are doing for their self sufficiency projects, check out the site http://www.zikomo.org/ to find out more.

Well my sincere apologies for leaving Yourselfsufficiency.com for some time in stagnation. Its not that I couldnt be bothered to keep up with the website but its the content thats gone way way way above my head. Firstly thank you for everyone who has visited and We are now a Page Rank 4 site on google, we reached this organically without cheating or buying our way to the top and its thanks to the visitors and patrons who have come here.

Cordyceps Sinensis

So - I will now consistently come up with articles and products or services or ideas which help you become self sufficient, yet allows you to be able to share and co-operate with people. The first thing is for each and every one of you. I am by no means a medical doctor, but I have not visited my doctor in over 10 years and He probably doesnt even know what I look like, let alone treated me for anything or eve seen me for any mild ailments. The reason for this is solely based on my belief about what I can do to look after myself and this in turn drives me to learn and have knowledge on my wellbeing.

Now I would like to share something with all of you, young and old alike.

I have come across a mushroom called Cordyceps Sinensis. oh cough cough and fiddlesticks. Ok i really should've said I came across mushrooms, not of the hallucinogenic or magic variety but it is truely magical when you understand what Fungi are and what this planet is, you'll come to understand that there are things which are bad for us, some things which are good for us, and in particular for no reason which anyone can explain, there are things which are BENEFICIAL FOR US ON AN UNPRECEDENTED level. Mushrooms may be the key to our planet and how life first started out - I am not going against popular reason or saying everyone is wrong.

But in particular - I was fascinated with Cordyceps sinensis - Its a miracle of a mushroom with such magical properties such as being able to improve your oxygen intake by upto 40% - this has MASSIVE IMPLICATIONS for health and for sports athletes alike, but lets discuss what else this thing does - ok buggerit you can read this list and then consult the mighty Google Scholar and read up on some other peoples medical journals and judge for yourself. Here is a link about cordyceps sinensis but for those who want to know in shortform... here goes:   (Warning this mushroom is extremely awesome and there is no short form way of expressing what it can do)

1. Cordyceps Improves the Respiratory Function

2. Cordyceps increases cellular Oxygen Absorption by up to 40%

3. Cordyceps Improves the Functioning of the Heart

4. Cordyceps Helps Maintain Cholesterol

5. Chronic kidney diseases improvement

6. Cordyceps Reduces Tumor Size in Cancer Patients - Alternative cancer treament / complimentary treatment with other conventional cancer treaments

7.  Immune System

8.  Improvements in the Immune System

9.  Anti-aging

10. Cordyceps Protects against Free Radical Damage

11. Cordyceps Reduces Fatigue

12. Cordyceps Helps Discomforts from Tired Legs

13. Endurance & Stamina - Sports enhancement

14. Fitness - sports enhancement

15. Cordyceps Improves Stamina and Athletic Performance

16. Cordyceps radically increases cellular energy

17. Cordyceps Combats Sexual Dysfunction

18. Hormones – Adrenal Thymus, Mitochondrial energy, Sexual Function.

can I just say  one thing and it needs to be said.  ALL OF THIS IS FROM CORDYCEPS SINENSIS!!!  Did you hear that?  No I didnt bump my head and make this up, you can literally pay to look at medical journals and if you are a serious researcher then get those shillings and cents out for some serious info. I had to spend some considerable time and funds to look this up and study these papers - obviously I have to tell you that by no means am I a medical practitioner of any kind nor do I condemn western/eastern medicine. In fact you should have a good relationship to your local healers/doctors/complimentary health practitioners but above all..... GET THE RIGHT INFORMATION AND STAY INFORMED. There are alot of good Doctors aswell as well intentioned people people who do not know it all - but I implore you to give this mushroom abit of your time because it benefits you so much!

There is so much to talk about but I have to leave it for later - because I'd like to write an original piece on what cordyceps sinensis is able to do but it lead me down another route - I started to look into mushrooms as a whole and how they have evolved, well surprise surprise, I got sucked into a whole new world! Thanks to this piece on cordyceps sinensis I found on www.cordyceps4you.co.uk it lead me on a new journey on the path to better health and greater englightenment... I've even bought myself a log and am trying to grow shiitake mushrooms

Now I cannot shake off the lurking possibility that Mushrooms and in particular the cordyceps family of mushrooms, not only benefits Humans but have this uncanny ability to annihilate the rest of the animal kingdom but if we eat it, we start to not only have better health in the form of enhanced immune systems, the repairing and improvement of the liver and kidneys, the benefits of mushrooms and their anti viral and anti bacterial uses has been well documented but in particular - I was having quite a fright about H1N1 Swine flu along with its insidious and nasty cousin H5N1...

Why am i talking about these influenza strains? Thats because Cordyceps Sinensis is able to kill influenza type virus's - once again I'm not here to tell you this is the answer to swine flu but it is a viable and highly researched answer, have a look at Google Scholar and decide for yourself whether Cordyceps Sinensis has anti influenza abilities or not.

My Apologies for those who havent got the funds to read 'paid-for' journals, these Doctors/Professors/Medicial technicians/Researchers have spenet a good part of their life and time studying and producing these papers so please show some support by paying to see quality research, dont just rely on the internet - there are real people who are doing beneficial research even if it wasnt on your behalf! I'm so glad I got the chance to verify for myself! There are 4000+ articles and studies on cordyceps sinensis and this stuff has been around since the Age of Kings and Emperors in the far east!