The Prepper Broadcasting Network - Maintaining Calm in Difficult Conversations, Virgis Ch 51

Episode Date: June 30, 2024

Some conversations make us aggressive and angry. Especially when others do not share the same views. These heated conversations typically do not convince either participant to change their worldviews. Virgis gives us a textbook example of how you can maintain calm and share your valuable opinions.

3, 2, 1, GO! survive, and thrive. And now, here's your hosts, Sarah F. Hathaway and Chen Gibson. Chapter 51. The men steamed as they entered the tenant area. The body heat from the mass of people and the random bonfires kept it warm. The drums thumped a lively beat, and Cole watched Chappie's body move with the music's rhythm. Major Virgis, have a drink. Enjoy yourself, a federal soldier greeted them, checking their IDs. Thank you, Cole replied, examining the crowd as they walked to the drink line. Go get us a bottle, Monroe. Yes, sir, Monroe replied with a grin.

Looks like the family is over by the fire listening to the stories, Chappie told him, as Monroe returned. Monroe handed them all a cup and filled it with alcohol. Thank you, sir, Chappie declared cheerfully, shooting the drink and putting his cup out for Monroe to fill it again. Monroe filled his own cup and handed Chappie the bottle. It will be easier that way, Monroe commented. Let's go, guys, Chappie stated, heading toward the circle of people. His voice was already beginning to slur as he rapidly drank himself to the level of drunkenness he loved. Approaching the glow of the fire, Cole watched a young mercenary soldier telling his survival story.

Cole was always tantalized by the storytellers who told the story with finesse. Their words would captivate your mind, flooding it with dancing images as the story unfolded. This young man was not one of those. When the flooding in Michigan came, my father fastened a top for our boat. The wave came and we all hid inside. The boat popped up to the top and we rode to the Wisconsin coastline, he explained. The crowd was unfazed and some even rolled their eyes in disgust. A skinny young man with sandy brown hair and gray eyes replied,

That's nothing. My mom made it out of Sacramento, California. She's the lone survivor. The boys' slurred words echoed through the crowd. A general hush and a silent whisper rippled through the assembled people. Cole watched the teenage boy sway with drunkenness as he approached. I've heard that story too, kid. No one really knows what happened to her, he accused, trying to get the young man to say more. We've all heard that story. It's just a myth, Monroe interjected, adding to the pressure Cole was applying.

A disbeliever in the story of the lone survivor, a drunken chappy declared, it's not a myth. I heard aliens abducted her after she made it over the mountains. He laughed heartily, smacking Monroe on the arm. So where is she? Or are you feeding me a line, son? Cole asked sternly.

The crowd was silent now, waiting for the young man to respond. No, sir. She's right over there, the young man replied, pointing to a woman. The crowd stirred and closed in tighter around Erica. Cole approached her. Her brown eyes shot a scornful look at her son who shrugged his shoulders at her. Her brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and although she was short, she was strong. Really? The lone survivor from Sacramento, he commented to her. She looked at him curiously. Cole could tell she was immediately inspecting his character, and he would be judged on every response and expression he displayed.

I'm Erica, sir. And you are? she asked him. Surprised by her blunt response, Cole responded, My name is Major Cole Verges. It's very nice to meet you. I've heard your story around many a campfire. I would love to hear it from you, if you don't mind, recruit. A small smile crossed Erica's face as she paused, deciding how to respond. I usually don't tell that story,

but if you insist. Tired of her attempts to control the flow of the conversation, Cole cut her off. Oh, I do insist. Chappie, grab me a couple stools. Here you go, sir, Chappie replied. Have a seat, recruit. And remember, I want the real story, not the fairy tale the story evolved into, Cole directed as he sat down across from her. The room quieted as Erica sat down. She sighed, obviously upset by Cole's request. The sound of the fire crackled and the rain softly pitter-pattered on the tent roof. She began slowly.

Cole could immediately tell she was an expert storyteller, and this would be good. The day of the quake? I had been out hunting for raccoons with my loudmouthed drunken son over there, Dexter, Erica began. The annoyance she felt saturated her words like a heavy cloud. Cole needed to get her to relax. He interjected,

Really? You hunted before all this mess? Erica looked at him curiously, her eyebrows furrowing. Eager to share her passion, Erica replied, Yes, I did. I liked a bow hunt most of all. Noticing the change in her voice and overall demeanor, Cole continued the questioning, even though the crowd seemed uninterested and started to talk amongst themselves. A bow hunter even. Erica lit up, making small movements with her body like she was stalking while she explained, it just seemed more sporting to me. It's not bang and the deer is dead. You have to take the shot, track, and sometimes

make a final kill. Excited by her previous story, she looked around, noticing the crowd was getting distracted. Cole was pleased when she returned to the story on her own accord and told it with a renewed passion. I lived in the foothills, but worked in Sacramento at a restaurant called El Primero. No way, I was there the day of the quake, Cole interrupted, shocked by the realization. Seriously? Erica wondered curiously. Cole noticed her eyes shift up and right while she tried to remember if she knew him. I've met you before, Cole exclaimed. I bumped into you when I was on my way out. You were late for

your shift. Oh my God, you're right, she declared, remembering his face. How did you survive the flooding, Cole wondered, remembering the wave that had smashed into the city. The restaurant was in that old Victorian home, Erica stated, jogging his memory. Uh-huh, Cole agreed. Back during the Cold War, the owner put a bomb shelter under the kitchen. Really? I had no idea that existed, Cole marveled. Not many patrons did, but the owner used it to store wine and restaurant supplies, Erica explained. Nodding his head with understanding, Cole answered, makes sense. I was down there when the quake hit, getting a bottle of wine. I was trapped under the wine rack, waiting for help that never came. After I got free, I tried the phones, but they were dead.

Cole knew the government had silenced the communication systems that weren't destroyed by the quake. They were doing national triage, and the people of California were expendable. Sure, yeah, Cole agreed. The quake took down most of the transceiver posts. It was a nightmare trying to get them back up and running. Plus, signal to our satellites was lost with the power outages, and they started to smash into each other as their orbits overlapped. Cole hoped if he could provide a rational excuse for why the communication

disruption had occurred, he could get that snarky tone of voice to disappear again. To his dismay, it only intensified. Well, my phone was dead and the screen frozen on the date of the quake. I survived on restaurant stocks waiting for help that never came. survived on restaurant stocks waiting for help, that never came. Cole asked her softly, appealing to her sensibilities. You must know why by now. His soft explanation only seemed to rile her up more. She snapped spitefully, yeah, I know. They closed the border, those bureaucratic pricks.

Encouraged by her passionate response, Cole carefully covered his emotions, giving her only a blank expression as feedback. However, he watched her demeanor calm as her husband Vince appeared behind her. He filled her cup and squeezed her shoulders affectionately. Erica thanked Vince, gently rubbing her face on his hand. She paused for a moment, taking a long pull from the drink and then continued. So where was I? Erica asked, looking up into the left as she thought. Oh yeah, I realized help was never, ever, ever, ever coming. So I devised a way to open the door. That's when I figured out very painfully that the lake was not

water, but toxic sludge. I saw the wave hit Sacramento. I was in a plane in the air. Damn after damn failed as the wave went down the hill. But why was it toxic? Cole wondered curiously. I guess all the chemicals stored all over the city mixed with the water. I guess all the chemicals stored all over the city mixed with the water. It was not friendly to the skin, she said confidently. Crazy. How did you make it out? I devised a way to protect myself with cellophane and duct tape outside my clothing, she explained. Cole smiled at her in disbelief.

That worked? I'm here, aren't I? she questioned immediately. Cole chuckled at the stupidity of his own question, but he was utterly enthralled. She was a fantastic storyteller, and he had control of the remote. I hadn't planned on swimming in it, or so I thought, she continued.

I made a raft from an old table and empty water jugs. Very resourceful, Cole thought aloud, adding to his list of reasons to employ her services. I rode home with a PVC pipe and a spatula. Cole noticed her voice slurring more. He hadn't seen her drink that much, so either she had a low tolerance or he had missed something. Rode your way? The water didn't drain off, he asked as she took a drink. Oh no, she replied excitedly. The Sacramento Valley was sludgeville as far as the eye could see. The crowd laughed at her candid explanation, but Erica's story continued. I set my sights on the mountains and went for it. What about the coastal mountain range eruptions?

Did you see that, Cole inquired, hoping she wouldn't skip that part. I was getting there, Erica countered, smiling at him. I paddled for days, and when I was almost home, I saw the smoke on the horizon. I thought it was probably a wildfire or something until my jugs started melting and my raft started sinking. Cole's brows furrowed in curiosity. The lava heated the water? Erica was getting drunk now, and her words seemed to sparkle brighter as she became more and more enthralled by the story. That's all I can figure. I was so close, I jumped in and swam for it. Her arms flew through the air as she built the excitement.

I forgot about the plastic wrap on my body, though. Their crap burned me from head to toe. The crowd gasped at her story, and she quickly added to their awe as she declared, Look at this. She stood up from the stool. First, she lifted her shirt, showing off the scarring on her belly and back. The crowd ooed with distress. However, they couldn't see the significant scarring on the top of her back, shoulders, and up behind her neck as much as he could as she leaned in to show them off.

Oh, damn, Cole commented. She sat back down with a bright smile on her face. A great couple, She sat back down with a bright smile on her face. A great couple, Henry and Carol Duncan, rescued me and brought me back to life. Their son and his family are right over there. Cole noticed a couple in their early 50s waving at Cole as Erica pointed them out. The man was much taller than his wife and both of them had short graying hair. And how did you make it out of California? Most people stayed put, Cole wondered what had inspired her to leave. At that point, I still needed to find my family, and I did, thank God. You know Dexter, she said, pointing at the young man who directed Cole to Erica to begin with. My daughter, Star, was orphaned, and we adopted her. Erica pointed to a tall young woman. She was

beautiful. Her eyes were as blue as the sky, and her body was r Erica pointed to a tall young woman. She was beautiful. Her eyes were as blue as the sky and her body was rippled with long lean muscles. My husband Vince is right here. Erica found Vince's hand and held it. I found them with the help of my good buddy Greg over there, she explained, pointing at a charismatic man with short brown hair. He held hands with a charming woman with bouncing blonde curls that outlined her face. We went and found my mom, Nancy, over there, and we got the heck out of Dodge. Erica pointed out a smaller statured woman with short gray hair. She was shorter than Erica and didn't possess the same powerful musculature. Knowing all of them from studying Erica's file, Cole commented

like he didn't know. So, the gang's all here. The smile left Erica's face. She sadly replied, almost. How do you mean, Cole wondered curiously. We all have eight-year-old family members being held at the camp as insurance policies, she explained. Cole nodded his head, understanding the strategy of her superiors. Of course they did. But come on, you wouldn't have brought your eight-year-old child out here on this mission. Erica looked at him and chuckled like he was telling a joke. She replied frankly, Sir, Dexter was only five when we had to leave California, and Star was eight. Granted, they didn't go on the raiding party with us, but they saw many things that no one needs to face, let alone a five- and an eight-year-old.

Intrigued by her character, Cole mumbled, Interesting. Her tenacity was genuinely astounding, and he knew it was exactly what they needed to go up against the federal governing board and sway the votes. He thought about her response. A raiding party? Tell me about that, he requested. The crowd murmured with anticipation, but Erica's look turned sour and her response was blunt. It's an experience I would rather not relive, sir. People say I was a hero, but Henry was a hero that day. I was just surviving. Cole watched Vince's hand gently squeeze Erica's thigh. He told her softly, it's okay, baby. I'm right

here. Displeased by her sudden shutdown, Cole requested, please don't make me pull rank here. What happened, Recruit Moore? Erica's drunk face looked towards him with outrage. She stood up, snapping at him. Oh, it's like that, is it? Cole stood up, standing over her. His reply was calm but stern. Yes, ma'am, it's like that, if you want it to be. But it doesn't have to be. He paused, taking the bottle and filling her cup. Let's have another drink. He filled Vince's cup as well before he sat down. Cole was thankful for the man's calming effect he had on this woman. The rumors of her defiant attitude were not wrong. Thank you, sir, Vince said politely. Cole watched him return to Erica and whisper, just tell him. Erica sat back down with a huff. Her storytelling craft

had disintegrated with her smile. There was this guy. Doug was his name. He led a group of survivors in Auburn who were pillaging the town, enslaving people, and raping women. I told you Harold's dad saved me from the sludge, she asked impatiently. Yeah, you said that, Cole replied, hoping she would loosen up again as she told the story. Well, Doug took Henry and his family captive, and Harold found me again, once I had already made it to cool and found Vince. We met a guy there, Rob, who was former military. He led a party to get Harold's family and raid supplies. All I did was follow his directions, she explained coldly. Disappointed by her lack of detail, Cole accused,

that's not what I heard. Tell me what happened. That is what happened. Erica snapped back at him. We went there. It was horrible. Those men were animals, treating people like dirt. We got the people out.

They were in piles of their own filth. We got clear, but Vince and dirt. We got the people out. They were in piles of their own filth. We got clear, but Vince and Greg were stuck in the supply room. Cole and the crowd grew more curious as she paused for a moment, finding the right words to say in her drunken fury. To Cole's surprise, the irritation was gone when she continued, and her voice was laden with remorse. I was so naive. I thought I could take on the world. I went to get them by myself and ended up tied to a chair with this dreadful

man in my face. He left me at one point to get Vince and I barely escaped. She looked down at the floor, crushed by the memories. Cole watched Vince's concern for the woman grow, and the man stood up, adding to her story. Doug and his man Steve caught Greg and me in the supply area. They told me they had Erica, and knew one of us was her husband. What could I do? We surrendered. They beat the living daylights out of us, bound us with zip ties, and carried us to the room where Erica was supposedly captured. Little did they know, nobody takes down my little firecracker that easily, huh, babe?

She looked up, smiling warmly at him. Encouraged by her return, Cole asked, What did you do then, Erica? Her face turned angry, and she blurted out, I killed him. Cole waited for her, wondering if she could calm down and continue. She would be no good to him if she could not exhibit this basic level of self-control. He was pleased as Erica continued. I killed him and Steve would have killed me if it weren't for Henry. And he's gone because of me, she said regretfully.

The tall man, Harold, stepped forward, assuring Erica. He died with honor. Cole was impressed by her effect on her crew. They were 100% devoted and instantly stepped in to pick her up when she faltered. He was intoxicated by Erica's aura and impressed by its instant effect on the people listening to her. Their mood seemed to change right along with hers. So you've been at the Las Vegas camp for nine years, Cole asked, focusing on where her mental status was at now.

Yup, nine years of bliss, she commented sarcastically. Thinking about the time frame, he commented, you were there during the riot then. She looked up at him answering flatly. Yep. Her tone had changed again. Cole sensed she had faced authorities many times in the past. He could see her body language flattened and her voice was cold. Were you part of the riot? He wondered. voice was cold. Were you part of the riot, he wondered. Yes, sir. I even helped organize it, she admitted matter-of-factly. The crowd stirred with her admission. Cole was surprised she would admit it so freely. Really, he wondered. Yep, I spent months in that box paying for it, she explained. Cole chuckled at her agreeing. Oh, I'm sure you did. The generals at the Capitol didn't like hearing that news at all. Well, that was a lot of years ago.

Times are different now. This is the new world, and we're just trying to find our place in it, she said, trying to sound convincing. What did you train before the quake, Cole wondered, switching the questions to something that wouldn't strike such a sensitive nerve. What makes you think I did, she asked curiously. Cole sensed she was testing him again. How you handled the situation even at the start of all this. So what was it, Cole demanded. Taekwondo, jiu-jitsu, and close quarters combat training, she admitted.

How did you meet Vince, he asked, trying to relax her further. Cole was encouraged by the bright smile that adorned her face and the laugh, she admitted, thinking about the memory. He picked me up hitchhiking, she explained. Amused by her answer, Cole chuckled as well. No way. Vince answered, I sure did,

and I've been chasing her around ever since. She wouldn't even let me drop her off at her house that night. Erica turned to face Vince, explaining flirtatiously, You were a stranger. That's not a smart idea. Vince smiled back at her, declaring with a yawn, This stranger is beat. I'm going to go lay down. I'll join you, Erica suggested, rising from the stool. Cole was not finished with his questions and commanded, no, you won't. We're not finished here. Yes, sir,

she declared politely. She sat back down, but Cole could tell she was growing impatient. Good night, baby, Vince said, kissing her good night. I'll be there in a bit, Erica told him. Cole poured her another drink, curious about her demeanor without Vince around. The man seemed to work as a security blanket for her. Thank you for staying. Here, have another drink, Cole told her, handing her the cup. Thank you, she responded, taking a sip. Why have you stayed at the refugee camp for so many years? Some landowner must have offered you and your family a place to live, Cole asked. Erica looked at him, searching his eyes.

Honestly, I wouldn't expect anything else, Cole replied candidly. Her irritation was evident, as she declared passionately, because I think this whole thing sucks. How do you mean, he asked, wondering what she was referring to. How do I mean? Are you freaking blind, she asked, stabbing the words at him. Cole was impressed she could direct her energy in such a targeted strike. He needed to stop this behavior immediately with so many feds around.

They were already accusing him of being too lenient and his superiority needed to be maintained. He commanded firmly, The truth is fine, but insubordination will not be tolerated. Erica chuckled at him, rolling her eyes. Of course not, she replied, disgusted by his position. It's all fine for you, just a job to be done. Look, Major, my kids have been neutered. My life has been stolen,

directed, orchestrated by a government telling me it's for my own good. The men who come to inspect us like cattle are despicable. Who thought this up? Why are people being treated like this in America, the land of the free indeed. Sharing her passion, Cole had to maintain his image in front of the feds. He quickly asked, you understand what happened to the country, don't you? Erica looked at him perturbed by his questioning. I'm sorry for being so frank, Major. Trust me, I get it. And I wish to God it never would have happened. But come on, we could have made it as a people, as an American free people, she pleaded. As badly as he wanted to agree with her and discuss what could be done to fix it, Cole asked her, you understand what happened to the world, don't you?

Cole felt Erica's searching eyes could read him like a book. The more he held back, the more agitated she became. Yes, sir, I said, I get it. I just thought America was better than all this, she snapped. The government took control for the good of all the people, Erica, corresponded with the rhetoric expected of a man in his position. Or so they keep telling me, Erica replied, frustrated by his inability to understand. Can I go to bed now, sir, she requested. Yes, ma'am, you may.

And thank you for answering my questions, Cole agreed. As she left, she replied cockily, as if I had an option, sir. Cole stayed with the crowd for hours after she left. He was astounded by the stir that she had created. Her story was the topic of the evening, and he instantly knew that she was the one he was searching for. What if I told you you could own land for $200 down and highly affordable monthly payments? Yourcheapland.com is your answer to bug out land, hunting, recreation, and whatever else your prepper mind can dream up. Yourcheapland.com has properties in Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, Arizona, Utah.

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Hello and welcome back to the Changing Earth podcast. This is episode number 453, season 15, episode 51. Hey, Jim, what's up? Hey, Jim's up, y'all. So we had a long episode today, the interrogation room. Beep, beep, beep. Hmm.

It's that bright light in my eye. I can't, I can't think. Jeez, man, we're supposed to be here just partying, having a good time. Here comes Virgis, asking all these questions. Like, damn. Um, so yeah, it's cool, though. just partying having a good time here comes virgins asking all these questions like damn um so yeah it's cool though and like thinking about it in hindsight like this event here probably helped erica's like story just spread like even more wildfire you know because typically her character didn't talk about it it's kind of like the

she didn't like talking about that aspect of herself so pretty cool thing um especially after last week was our debacle in hopetown which you know that one will be coming around again and if you're listening to the audio drama, episode three of season four just went up. And, oh, yeah. That debacle is definitely coming back around in the audio drama. So that was some really fun scenes to put together in there. Hopefully I'm talking about the right one. I am. I'm working on so many different areas of the story. Yeah.

All at once. so many different areas of the story. Yeah. All at once. So yeah. Episode 3 just went up for the public and 4 went up for the paid subscribers. They got the commercial free 4 up there right now.

And then episode 4 will be up next week and then so I've been pondering a different idea instead of doing the bloopers shows do you want to know what it is the suspense is killing me i figured i figured i'm thinking of doing like the family feud, you know, like doing Erica's family versus Swenson's family.

Get everybody on for that. So we'll see if I can. You know, everybody's got really busy schedules. But I think that would be so much fun and then do it in character. You know, have Ryan on and do with yori

you better stock the shelves with some vodka all right so yeah that'd be totally fun so yeah that's my idea so head on over there head over to my youtube channel uh check that out changing earth um it's just at Changing Earth. And you can check out the audio drama. Please like and subscribe while you're over there. The more subscribers I can get, the better, obviously. So I'm really counting on you guys to help me out. If you do have a YouTube, just please go over there and like and subscribe to the channel.

That would really, really help me out right now. Okay, I think I saw that Prepper Camp tickets were going up the other day. Yeah. Yeah. 25. Yeah. So that's why we keep telling you guys you gotta get those tickets early. That's when you're gonna

get the best deal. If you haven't got your ticket yet, get it done. They're gonna go up again. Be an orphan. What's that? I said it's like voting. If you haven't got your ticket yet, get it done. They're going to go up again. Early and often. What's that? I said it's like voting, early and often. That's right. That is so right.

So, get her done. Oh, I'm not even going to touch the debate. Come on, I'm throwing those softballs in there. I don't even think he knew what he said. Well, if everybody were here, you could have listened to the live show. You would have heard my opinions on that show. I hear you. Yeah.

Honestly. This show is all about debating right So staying calm It's true it is about staying calm during the debate No doubt I had to laugh because I knew The debates were going to happen Just before this show

It's true it's kind of perfect timing right I should have done it before Yeah Oh man I couldn't i found myself i was getting so angry at the tv i was just like oh how can they just go up there and lie like that it's just crazy all right so and then honestly i mean sadly enough, after all is said and done, it is just so frighteningly scary to know that the man with the nuclear football. Oh, there's not a chance in hell he's he's physically near that. I mean, for real, for real.

And for our you know, for anybody who's looking to take advantage of the United States, look on us and see that. It's just really humiliating. Gosh, you know, we really need to re-uptake our pride in our country, for sure. So,

anyway, that's all the debating I do. We're going to talk about how to stay calm during the day the debate because 16 dance dance dance dance dance dance revolution well you know what there's so many people right now after that display that happened on tv that'd be willing to listen to you because they're starting to go, oh, no. I've seen a lot of it on TV. They're just like,

maybe we were wrong, right? So now is not the time to be like, yeah, you were. Remember what you said and what you did and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. No, no, no, no. That's not going to to be like, yeah, you were. Remember what you said and what you did? No, no, no, no. That's not going to get us anywhere, right? So we've all had these conversations where it's really, really hard to maintain our emotional stability.

And I got to tell you, Tim, before the show, this is like a counseling episode for Sarah because it's something I've worked so hard on my whole life to be able to calm my brain while I'm in the moment so I can rationally think and use the intelligence that God gave me to be able to help others instead of getting upset with them because of their opinions and then nothing gets done because now you guys are both just upset at each other

and nobody really listened to each other anyway. Right? So typically our families are real good at helping us with that one. My extended family. I'm not talking about immediate. They're pretty cool guys. So let's talk about what we can do to think clearly.

Breathe. Number one. So a lot of these are coming from thehealthline.com. Chin, you can throw up the link in the chat if you want to. So I took, I liked where Healthline was going with their article. So I took their headers and, but I have like some different explanations for it.

Imagine that. Imagine that. You're a writer. So breathe. When you're upset, you start breathing really shallow and fast it's to get you ready for action it's a survival technique totally warranted at one time but when you're having a debate over um you know politics or on different hot topics. Just not a time for you to be in that mode. Oh no, that's Hot Pockets.

Not Hot Pockets. So getting your breathing under control and learning how to do that can really help. I first became really attentive to my breathing through martial arts. Because when you're kicking and you're sparring and you're doing all this stuff, the key up is the way of releasing energy, but also forcing yourself to breathe and not just hold your breath the whole time. Like you'd be surprised how many people like hold their breath while they're doing sit-ups. You know, it's not what you want to do. You want to develop that nice breathing pattern.

Meditating, it was also a great way to start really working on your breathing pattern and how to control that. And I had people for years tell me, Sarah, you really need to learn to start meditating. You need to meditate, meditate. I'm like, come on. My brain moves at 800 million miles an hour all the time. Right. So I started meditating and I finally listened and oh my goodness, it just really, really puts you in the now and gives you the calm space to work with, to just clear out all that clutter in your brain. Very useful. So I do, you know, I meditate on the Lord, on Jesus, and it's really, really, really good for the mind, body, and i do recommend that and then it does help you learn how to do those breathing patterns so that when you are in those upset moments you can just be

like okay i just need to take a breath calm down right number two they have recognized the anxious feeling the angry anxious feeling my biggest help with this was actually brian duff for different reasons than what he used it for but i used it differently um so brian had his ptsd and does a lot of talking on ptsd and the triggers and how to recognize that. Well, I was experimenting with the same techniques to handle anger at the time to be able to recognize like when your body is starting to get elevated, recognize it at the very beginning. So you can be like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

That's not a place we want to go right it's funny you're saying your your dogs notice it yeah yeah shadow especially she's like if i start getting angry at my work or whatever she knows it immediately i don't even have to say anything she's like out of the room like skulking away i'm like wow she knows my energy you know so it's really important that you can recognize that because then you can be mindful of your tone as well if you're not even able to recognize your feelings then you're not going to recognize when you start using that higher tone and you start getting angry and that's when defenses go up and bad things happen. So recognizing the feelings. There are pre-triggers in your body that start happening

with your actual chemistry and you need to start recognizing that it really helps really helps because then you're like okay i recognize it i gotta take a breath i gotta relax uh i have to make sure i maintain the correct tone of voice here and uh so the situation doesn't get out of hand and so that i can explain when mom always said it's not what you say it's how you say it right yeah and then yeah if you're in that tone if you're in that place people don't want to listen to you anyway you're not gonna you're not gonna solve any of the world's problems that way you're just gonna be a little tirade you know okay number three challenge your thoughts so i really really expanded beyond what they have is their definition here right but i totally agree that irrational thoughts are what makes you

anxious or angry because they challenge your normalcy bias so whatever you think is normal whatever you think the way of the world is as soon as somebody tries to explain to you that that might not be correct you're gonna start getting anxious about it or possibly even angry right you know that's just how it goes so i mean all of our survival tools and our knowledge are all tying in to give us better communication, which is really, really cool. So a couple of points, you know, actively listen. So don't just sit there thinking what you're going to say next. Right.

And then I don't know if you've heard of Jordan Peterson at all. I watch a lot of his videos and stuff. And one of the interesting things that he said is you don't always have to be right. You know what? I know. Like you're not you're not in the conversation to always be right. Like I'm right right you're wrong no no so um don't just try to convince somebody that you're right they they might not want to

admit that you're right so and you might not have a clear understanding of their point of view. So the more questions that you ask them about why they feel the way they do, the clearer your understanding of their point of view is going to become. And once all that confusion under this is where I'm coming from and this is where you're coming from, once all that confusion kind of goes away away they might reach the same conclusion that you have but they did that all on their own through the process of asking questions like you're both arguing about the exact same thing yes but just 45 degrees off from each other but really you're saying the same freaking thing and you finally come to realize that you're both on the same side yes all the time like my mom and brother or my mom and uh fletcher do that all the time that's like you guys are saying the same thing

you know it's not like they don't have to be like oh you're exactly how you said it is exactly how it is right. And you are the best or whatever you're looking for. I mean, that that's not going to get anybody anywhere. So, um, I challenge everybody out there when you start getting upset, um, cause you don't understand the reason you're getting upset is because you don't understand somebody else's point of view. You don't understand how they can think that way. So when that starts happening, start asking questions instead of giving directions or corrections, right? And not just like yes or no questions, because that can just be like, well, this is the way it is, right? because that can just be like, well, this is the way it is, right?

You know, and that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about open-ended questions of, you know, you have this point of view. How would you see it in this light? How would that work in this situation? How would we move forward with that point of view, that kind of thing? Does that make sense? Yeah. It's really helped me out a lot.

To stay calmer, to understand. And I love knowledge. I love learning. And so even if you learn what not to do from somebody, you still learn something. So yeah, asking those questions. And then asking kind of directed questions if you get real deft at the art of asking questions you can walk somebody right where you want them to go through the questions that you're asking them um and how they're answering which is kind of fun as well if you're into like seeing. And be a lawyer.

Yeah, yeah. If you want to be a lawyer or something like that. Exactly. Okay. Number four. Do you need a break? Sometimes, you know, it's just really hard to control anger and frustration. So taking a break before it ever gets there. breathing, you know, taking that walk so you can just kind of get your mind together and then come back and talk in a calmer,

more rational way. Exercise is always going to help release negative emotion. It creates positive endorphins. So it's really, really hard actually to come back after a really hard workout and be like, I'm just so pissed off. I'm going to remain pissed off forever. Um, I can't do it. I mean, if I, like I was telling you pregame, you know, five minutes, uh, five minute rounds, five, five minute rounds on the bag, and you're going to be a puddle and things are going to look a lot differently once you have that energy worked out of yourself. So find what works for you and take that break. Okay. Number five, I also like. So visualize yourself calm. Again, this requires you knowing yourself, your emotions and those pre-triggers so when you start getting pissed off i was pissed off the

other day at a computer program i should have known like as soon as i started getting pissed off to like just visualize visualize myself in this calm place it brings you back to reality screen yeah i do like yelling at the screen it was not working I had to walk away that's what worked so which is number I think I skipped number six but I like

number seven which was change your focus so your brain works in crazy ways and just looking away have you ever like walked through a doorway and you totally forgot what you came in there for? Every day. Right?

It's because when you go through that doorway, the whole focus has changed. Your brain already went on to a new mission. It's a trigger of our brains. That happens that way. So it's not just because of old timers disease or anything is what we start telling ourselves. It's because literally you just change your focus. Your brain just went to a different place. I also like number eight, which was having a centering object.

Yes. Right? So my mom, she used to give me a rubber band on my wrist as a reminder not to chew on my nails. You know? Yeah, stop it. And this is kind of the same thought. I used to have a worry stone in my pocket. So, like, whenever I started getting anxious or whatever, I would just touch on that worry stone, you know?

Yeah, we were talking before I read a different article about the same like physical you need to like get out of your head and ground yourself kind of with like touching things with your hands or with your feet or whatever to get yourself out of your head

space. Ooh like Die Hard when he's like the feet on the carpet. Have you seen that? Forget it. But it's like squish your toes on the carpet. Oh my God. But that takes us right into the next one. Relax your body. So you're going to get tense.

Your muscles are going to tense. You start pumping adrenaline, right? Really helps right what's that breathing helps with that exactly that's why breathing came first it's the most important uh because once your breathing starts going out of whack that triggers your brain to we're going to start moving now everything goes into process as far as your adrenaline kicking, your emotions get revved up, everything gets harder to control. Fight or flight stuff. Exactly.

Yep. Yep. Which is good in some circumstances, just not this one. When you're trying to rationally talk to people about, like, why the media has been feeding you lies for this long, and now it's time to wake up and realize that that was lies. You're going directly against their normalcy bias. They've been living in this illusion for years and years and years.

They didn't know all the information we knew back in 2020 when all this stuff began. They didn't know the information that we knew even you know before that um what was going on with the country they were getting told that's all conspiracy theory and blah blah and so they have a lot of rapid catch-up to do now that they're kind of awakening to oh my gosh it's all been a lie so um that's why i think these conversations need to be really, really handled with very much tact and deft because we want to come together as communities. We don't want to hold things against people for the past and whatnot. If everybody's willing to come together, you don't want to have those barriers for people.

You don't, you know, want to have those barriers for people. So it's like I've heard James say a lot in his podcast. You know, it's not a time to say I told you so. Exactly. I was going to do the same thing. It's not like, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, right? No. Who's there?

I would love to. Trust me. I'd be like, brr, brr, brr, brr, told you. They use it to bring them into the fold yeah but i would rather see people come together and make this world a better place than to hold all this anger against each other and keep crushing america because we're so divided so keep crushing the world because we're so divided i mean this is a time we have worldwide listeners and uh this is a time when the people of this world can make this place a better place regardless of what our of what some of the corrupt leadership is doing sorry i had a biden moment there okay uh i'll joke it aside you know um your shoulders so when you start getting anxious and whatnot your shoulders come up up up up up up till they're like earrings you know

with me you could totally tell if i am fired up. I've just got shoulder earrings. And so make sure your shoulders drop, you're chill, relax. Body language is just as important as the words that come out of your mouth. So if your body's saying, ha ha ha, I told you so, even though your mouth's not, so even though your mouth's not you know somebody's still gonna pick up on that and then at the end of the day it's okay to disagree i think we forgot this somewhere along the line that's what makes it healthy that's what makes um you know that's what keeps us centered as a country you've got views over here and you got views over here and we stretch and stretch and stretch and we find a middle ground and it's okay that i'm not 100 on board with you because we reach this middle ground and it's okay that you're not 100 on board

with me because we meet we reach this middle ground but we can still be friends and have different opinions. Diversity has been such a word bantered around these days. But it's almost like diversity isn't allowed to, true natural diversity isn't allowed to take place. Yeah. You know what I mean? Because, like, you have, you might, your favorite color or favorite whatever is, or your, you know, your favorite vacation is one thing where mine is another. We're diverse people, but the word diversity has kind of been co-opted into something different. It's been homogenized. Yeah.

The thesaurus is getting the work out. I'm thesaurus-ing today. Yes. No, it is. It's so true. And as much as they, it's interesting to see how corruption, I don't want to say they, you know,

it's interesting to just see how corruption can take really beautiful ideas and just destroy them and warp them to a point where it's like, no, no, that's not where we started at all. And you just turn it into this thing that's now disgusting. And, yeah, way to go. You know, we could have all been diverse, and now you just, yeah.

So I totally agree. But that's the challenge round for everybody this week is you know next time that you're getting angry start to recognize these things start to learn how to control your body

with your spirit so that we stay at a better place we treat each other with respect and love and unconditional forgiveness you know that's what it's about so um yeah it's a work in progress it is not easy to do i'm not gonna lie because i've been on the mission for a while and uh you get you get angry sometimes especially when that debate was on i was like

you can't you can't get all the way to changing earth news before we hit 15 and 16. Okay. All right. Let her rip. 15 is listen to music at 16 is have a dance party. So dance it out. That's right. Well,

they do that in my books. The hug it out, hug it out. Yeah. Um, 18 is, is what you do write it down yeah yep journal yeah journal i've got some that forces you to think through the issue if you're if you're physically writing it down it does it really does um all good points. I have one song that is my calming song.

Like, if I'm fired up, boom, it's going on, you know. I usually put some, like, just pump me up song if I'm riled. Right? Probably not the best thing to do, but it gets me out of there. Yeah. And then laughing and, you know, taking moments to just appreciate, hey, you know, life isn't so bad. We're all just on a journey together. And, you know, it's not so bad.

So just calm down. Laugh. Enjoy life a little bit. Yeah. That's what it's all about. All right. Let's jump into changing earth news news news news because we got some good stuff

going crazy stuff but good stuff well geologically interesting stuff I guess alright here we go without any further ado dream survive thrive this is changing earth news all right so today is june 30th 2024 here we go with the changing earth news interesting this week we had this random

solar storm like wednesday where the kp just spiked for like no reason um so it could have happened from like plasma bombardment from outside but it really just shows you how weak the shield is getting and we just had some filament releases we had four in the past three days they should be like glancing blows and it should be no big deal at all so we're really watching those to see like how impactful are they going to be? Because that will really start to give some key indicators of like just how fragile is our shield right now. And what do we need to be ready for? Which is, you know, it could be CME any day. So you know to always be ready for that kind of thing.

I mean, that would just be like all of a sudden we're at steam engine times again. So save those old tools and make sure you guys are prepping every day. You never know what's going to happen, whether that's a personal, you know, a natural or a man-made disaster. We just don't know. So that's why we stay ready. There is an uptick in sun spots on the sun right now and there is a hurricane approaching down south the yucatan it just went cat four i saw before i got on the air um it is expected to de-intensify a little bit before it slams into the yucatan so they're hoping it kind of just like

needles through between the islands the caribbeans and um south the northern side of south america so hoping for less damage because it is moving fast but it just went like cat four right before i got on the mic so it is officially the biggest hurricane this early in the year that's ever been on record. So again, another record falls. This is how you know, like all these signs are coming together. It is going to be an exciting time to be on this planet. We've got to be ready. Already, June 24th, 2024, we had 379 earthquakes that were 2.0 or bigger biggest of which was a 6.3 in vanatu there was also a 6.0 in the band of c by indonesia there was four early morning earthquakes in la the biggest of those with 3.2 and uh there was six tornadoes confirmed touchdown wisconsin janesville took it the worst

a yacht uh they had a party on a yacht over by greece lighting off fireworks triggered all these wildfires over in greece so a bunch of people got arrested for that um forest fires in eastern canada are forcing evacuations and there's also a lot of fires burning in western turkey that they're still trying to get a grip on on june 25th of 2024 there was 362 earthquakes that were 2.0 or bigger biggest of which was a 5.4 in the North Pacific Ocean by Japan. There was over 22 new shallow depth earthquakes at Campy Flagry. Eyes on that volcano. That is a big deal, guys. That is a super volcano. It has no way of releasing energy like Yellowstone does. And it has been way too obnoxious not to pay attention to it. There was severe flooding in Changsha city in China. And this, so the Southern end of China

is absolutely flooding. And the Northern part of China is in a severe drought. So again, like I've been saying over the weeks these extremes we're looking at extreme highs extreme lows and boy don't we know it here in texas right now extremely hot um in dublin new hampshire there was confirmed tornado touchdown the apache fire in butte county forced evacuations that's in california um In eastern Washington, they had new wildfires popping out. Fresno County, they had another wildfire that was sparked by lightning pop up there. And Redoso, New Mexico, 11 people went missing. 25,000 acre wildfire burn in there.

On June 26th, there was 344 earthquakes that were 2.0 or bigger biggest of which was a 5.3 in the bay of bengal south dakota is absolutely reeling from devastational flooding they had major infrastructure damage bridges roads down so that's going to be interesting you know we're going to need to really think about reappropriating some of our funding as a nation to rebuilding infrastructure the north is getting absolutely hammered there is some fragile dams up there that i talk about the fort peck dam in montana you know there's some items that really have to get our attention these things were built about

100 years ago and they were not built for the catastrophic weather like we're going to be experiencing so um i think it's time to start thinking about home a little bit more than diverting all our money overseas on june 27th of 2024 there was 362 earthquakes that were 2.0 or bigger biggest of which was a 6.3 in the south pacific ocean near new zealand historical midwest flood hit causing major concerns over food prices iowa is completely flooded they've not been able to get their planning done because of all the flood water that's on their farmland so all all of these things with what's happening in Idaho this year, it's going to be really interesting. Anything that you buy now as a food prep for the long term is going to be worth its weight in gold. The food prices are going to go up. You guys got to think about gardens.

You got to think about long-term food supply. You got to get some cans stocked up, get them back. Um, spend the money now. I know it's tight, but, uh, you're, you'll thank yourself later. Okay. Um, deadly heat in Europe and China hitting Pittsburgh area, more tornadoes, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, they've had so many tornadoes this year. It's just crazy. Not an area that is normally tornado prone. So again, these weird things happening. Central Oregon, rapidly growing wildfire there. Southern Colorado wildfire grew to 495 acres um and then it quickly grew to another 3700 acres after that on june 28th there was 390 earthquakes that were 2.0 or 2.0 or bigger the biggest of which was a 7.2 earthquake off the coast of peru luckily because because this was off coast, it didn't cause, it didn't kill that many people. There was injured, and I think two people passed away

because of this earthquake. But a 7.2 is pretty darn significant, and it could have caused a lot more damage. So that was a good thing that it was able to release that energy without causing that many problems. There was a 3.4 earthquake in New York. Eastern China had more flooding, toppling buildings, sweeping away vehicles. In India and Delhi, they went from extreme heat just into heavy flooding, like in the blink of an eye, killed at least one person over there. So again, these extremes. And when you're in between the low pressure and the high pressure where they collide together mega storms tornado was captured it was a really good footage in osage city in kansas Kansas. And in Alaska, 250,000 acres burned. Their wildfire so far this year, their wildfire risk is

growing. We're going to get into those wildfire numbers in just a minute. June 29th of 2024, there was 398 earthquakes that were 2.0 or bigger, biggest of which was a 6.1 in the South Pacific Ocean near Peru. So it got hit again right down there. Minnesota communities, their flooding emergency is just growing. So typically they have a lot of runoff, and then this water will flow out, and it will go away. But the water is not draining away, and it's really starting to disrupt their tourist season up there.

They've got a lot of lakes, people out on the beaches and whatnot and this is not happening because all the flooding up there then on the 29th albuquerque new mexico hit with heavy rain causing flooding it hits reduzo which is great that's where all those wildfires were. But because of all those wildfires that were burning, it turns it all into a slick. Now you got rain, now you got mudslides, you got flooding. So it's not really best case scenario. Again, these extremes, right? You go from a wildfire burning to now the area is flooded. Just like that. Blink of an eye, three days. um jacksonville florida they were hit by an ef1 tornado on the 29th and scottsdale arizona they were doing evacuations due to wildfires there today june 30th there's been 405 earthquakes that are 2.0 or bigger so far biggest of which was a 5.2 in the Philippine Sea by the North Mariana Islands. There was 500 earthquakes in Kilauea.

So that's, they were actually expecting an eruption like last night, but it didn't happen. So they're thinking there's going to be another eruption on Big Island. I've been seeing a lot of articles stating that Yellowstone is closed due to seismic activity. They're trying to make a big deal out of it. Oh, Yellowstone's closed. Government closed Yellowstone. So it is true that all the entrances to Yellowstone were closed on June 14th. But it was due to the amount of flooding inside of Yellowstone, not due to the seismic activity. I interviewed the gentleman from Yellowstone in the past and he was

saying, you know, unless we had like 2,000 earthquakes at Yellowstone a month, that's when we start to worry about it. You know, when we get like 5.0 earthquakes and big numbers coming out of there. But to have 200 earthquakes in Yellowstone in a month. That's really minor for Yellowstone. So that's clickbait. They're just trying to get you to click on that. However, northern Italy is not clickbait. They had some severe torrential rain with flooding landslides over there. And also parts of France and Switzerland are currently flooding and under flood advisories.

Okay, so we've had these crazy volcano numbers lately as well, which this week did not disappoint. We have 33 volcanoes actively erupting on our planet. That is down one for the actively erupting from last week. So we like to see that. 34 was most I've ever seen since I began looking at it years ago. We have 28 showing minor activity. That's up one. So basically one of the erupting just stepped down into the minor activity.

But we have 25 showing unrest. So that's up one from last week. So we've actually added one more volcano to the list since last week. So I don't know if that's a, that's a, that's a good thing or a bad thing. I mean, that's one more on the list. One of the interesting theories that I was studying this week is, you know, the Hunga Tonga eruption that happened in 2020 um february 2020 was the biggest volcanic eruption that we've had on our planet in over 150 years and since it was down south and not a lot of people were injured and stuff like that it kind of just got swept under the rug but the amount of water vapor that

was thrown up into our mesosphere is gonna have have an effect on our planet. I mean, these things take a long time to come to fruition, to play out. So they've done, you know, the three to seven year projections on what this amount of water vapor in our mesosphere would do to our planet. We're two years past now and we're starting to see more and more of these weather extremes that can you know we've got the sun playing its game we got the magnetic shield doing its game and then we have all the water vapor from hunga tango up there so there are things that are off kilter on our planet like never before and that's why i say whatever happens it's going to be a wild ride it's uh

it's going to be interesting to see what happens because it's really uncharted territory for our modern civilization, I guess. Okay, let's get into some wildfires. So wildfires in the USA, we are a preparedness level of three. We have 43 large active fires burning right now. Four of them are new fires for a total of 2,500, nope, 257,167 acres. Five of those fires are contained. Number one state on the list is Alaska with four new fires, 24 currently burning, 162,169 acres currently burning. Three of those fires are contained. Number two on the list is New Mexico with no new fires. Three currently burning, 28,007 acres. Three of those fires are contained.

So all the fires in New Mexico are contained at this point. The floodwaters really had a hand in that, making that happen. In Oregon, there are no new fires, but there are three fires currently burning for a total of 23,051 acres. One of those is contained. Number four on the list is California. No new fires. They have three fires total, a total of 22,356 acres, And one of those fires is contained. And then just because Arizona has been in the news a lot,

they've been having to do a lot of evacuations because the fires are in close to cities and urban areas. So they're number five on the list. They have no new fires. Two fires currently burning. Total of 8,269 acres. Neither of those fires are contained at this point. All right.

So, yeah, you should, if you guys are interested in seeing how these different influences, different items influence our planet, you should really do some research on that Honga Tonga eruption. They have, like, projections of, like, what our weather is going to be like in certain months and how it's going to change the seasonality of the planet with different rains and stuff like that. So it's really interesting to study if you're interested. I would suggest doing some of that because it's, like I say, unprecedented

since our modern era has been here to see something like this so changing earth good times it's gonna be fun i also showed you um from the palestine or uh train derailment in ohio where the runoff of that sodium, was it sodium chloride? The hot areas of that? It's like North Carolina and Virginia and Maine and stuff to where this stuff is running.

So if you're in the northeastern corner of the world, you might actually want to check that out as well and see where those toxicity levels are at, if it's going to affect you at all. Because that was rather interesting. There's a website. Yeah. Yeah, there is.

There is. Alrighty. That's all I got for today, you guys. Thank you for coming and listening as always thank you chin for spending your time with me I always appreciate you um yeah entire intrepid commander we're talking Virginia for that for that chemical so take take a look at the map if you're in those areas um but again thank you for coming and listening please head on over to my YouTube channel,

give it a like, um, subscribe to the channel, check out the material there. It would really help me out. And I really appreciate your guys' time and energy and doing that. Of course, you can always go over to my website, changing our series.com. That is my central base and anything you want to know is there and you can get a hold of me there and everything else. So already guys, stay safe. Stay cool. If you're in the hot areas above the water, if you're in flooding areas, oh my goodness, it's just going to get wild. So make sure you're prepared. Until next time, remember, dream, survive, thrive. Thank you for joining Sarah and Chen for this episode of the Changing Earth podcast don't forget to pick up your copy

of Day After Disaster Without Land The Walls of Freedom Battle for the South Dark Days in Denver and The Endless Night at www.author sarahfathaway.com.

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