HERBS USED FOR INCENSE

Historically, sick rooms were once cleansed using the smoke from burning sage and rosemary. A fragrant wood, Cedar is known to have expectorant, antifungal, antiviral and lymphatic cleansing properties. The needles from Pine, Spruce and Fir trees contain the main ingredient in Tamiflu (a medicine used to treat the bird flu) called shikimic acid. Respiratory ailments have been helped with the application of incense made with Frankincense. Other similarly beneficial herbs are Eucalyptus leaves and Mullein.

The slow burning of plant materials release essential oils into the smoke which – when inhaled – are then carried into the lungs. Bronchial inflammation can be relieved by beneficial herbal properties that are directly applied to the tissue using this method.

I know of one instance of a woman that was left struggling for air, choking and vomiting from a strong cytokine response during the flu. The man of the house closed the damper on the wood stove and placed cedar in the fire box, which produced a cleansing smoke. The cytokine storm stopped right away. Twenty minutes later, she had no more mucus and was relieved of her flu symptoms. Since that time, they have used this same remedy on other family members to good effect (of course, they air the house out afterwards).

Native Americans often used the smoke of Cedar to cleanse their homes. Smoke can be used in rustic conditions as a cleanser to rid a person, bedding, clothing or shelter of vermin, viruses and harmful bacteria. The last part of Leviticus 14 records that priests were instructed to cleanse a house of the plague using Cedar.

HOW TO USE HERBS FOR INCENSE
Carefully place a hot ember or coal from a hardwood fire (use tongs) onto a heat resistant surface. Assemble the herbs around and onto the ember and watch for smoke. Allow the smoke to waft over you and inhale. Be careful that the plant material does not burst into flames but only smokes. The smoldering is accomplished by using hot coals rather than an open fire; you can also tie your herbs or wood into tight bundles.

Herbs tightly bundled for incense are called smudge sticks. In some cases, leaves and stems can be tightly braided. If you only have dry leaves, these can be tightly wrapped in unbleached paper and tied with cotton thread. To use smudge sticks, light one of the ends. Extinguish the flame by gently blowing on it, leaving the smudge stick to smoking. These smudge sticks make it easier to direct the smoke and they tend to smoke longer than loose plant material.

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WARNING
Never inhale or come near the smoke of a plant to which you are allergic. The purpose of this article is for information only. Persons utilizing these methods assume all liability and are encouraged to use safety guidelines. This article is not a substitute for the care of a trained health professional.

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SAFETY TIPS FOR FLOODS

Flooding is rated first in the United States for weather related deaths. Flood conditions contribute to the deaths of an average of 140 people annually. Vehicle deaths account for 3/4ths of that total.

Nature is not the enemy in a flood and realizing this can contribute to your chances to survive. Flood conditions occur often enough that much information on survival techniques has been gathered.

Rivers that overflow their banks account for the primary form of flooding. Though there has been no rainfall in an immediate area, it is possible to experience flooding. Upriver storms and rain can cause the waters to rise in areas that haven't even detected a cloud. Extended rainfall over a period of weeks or days can culminate in flooding downstream. Two important pieces of information are your risk for flooding and the topography of the land in your area.

Restraining your pets or placing them on a leash indoors is one precaution you can take in time of flooding. Livestock should be moved to high ground. Tune your radio to the local weather station for updates and warnings. Time is of the essence when a flood warning is issued -- a flash flood warning may give you even less time to act. Escape may be measured in seconds. Swollen waterways will dispense their overflow onto the lowest level. Quickly the streams, creeks and streets will fill. Seek out higher ground rather than trying to outrun floodwaters. Don't try to drive out of a flash flood. A car cannot accelerate as quickly as a flash flood.

For those that have time to prepare, furniture and treasured items can be relocated to a higher level. Fill a variety of containers, even your bathtub, with clean water. If you have a family disaster plan, use it now.

If you see water covering an area, DON'T DRIVE into it. That water may be hiding hazards. The area isn't safe no matter how well you know it. The ground surface could have been compromised by water and objects. Toxic chemicals, downed power lines or an assortment of other debris can be mixed with the floodwater. Stop your vehicle, turn it around and find an alternate route.

Don't walk through standing water. The pull of floodwaters is deceptively strong. As little as a half-of a foot of water can be sufficient to set a child or an adult off their feet, carrying them away. Boiling water advisories may be issued so you'll want to listen to your radio for those. Take special note of any small openings in your home's exterior. Snakes, rats and neighbors' pets will be seeking shelter too, and may choose your home as a refuge.

Walk around the exterior of your house when you return after a flood to check for damage and places where animals may have entered. If you see foundation damage, it's best to hire a professional to inspect the safety of the premises. Wear protective clothing when cleaning up after a flood. Remember to wear a dust mask, long-sleeves, long pants, rubber gloves and waterproof boots. There will be a lot of silt, debris and mud swept into a flooded home. Bring enough clothing to change as your work garments get soiled. The sludge contains bacteria that could cause sickness.

 

 

There was an impressive flood in Cane Creek, TN earlier this year. <media 1838 - external-link-new-window>No Greater Joy's July-August issue</media> carried articles about the aftermath. Bestselling author Debi Pearl contributed an article entitled "The Biggest Cane Creek Flood on Record" and illustrated with color photos. Gabriel Pearl, Debi's son, also wrote about the event in "Cane Creek Flood." Read No Greater Joy Magazine online or add your name to their free subscription list.

LIFE BENEATH THE SURFACE

If you ever visit Havre Montanna, you may think that there isn’t much to see other than Norman’s Ranch and Sportswear store. While Norman’s is a fine establishment, there’s much more to Havre than meets the eye. In addition to the railroad museum and other interesting sites, Havre boasts a unique attraction called ‘Beneath the Streets.’ A novelty today for tourists, this feature was once an underground business community. Over 100 years ago, it was a place that ranch-hands and cowboys descended to spend their money gambling, drinking, at the opium den and in the bordello.

 

 

 

 

While Havre may have been one of the first to have this idea, it hasn’t been the last. In Sweetwater, Tennessee an extensive cave system boasts a place called Craighead Caverns. During the 1930s and 40s, the horses at Fort Oglethorpe offered a ready supply of manure which was used to operate a mushroom farm in a spacious section of the cave. Not far from those mushroom beds, a dance floor was built for a nightclub known as the Cavern Tavern.

While uncommon, it isn’t THAT outlandish an idea to imagine that caves could be used to provide shelter. It’s been done before. The difficulty is to imagine that entire communities could not only be housed in caves, but that it would be possible to live there for extended time without returning to the surface for food, clean air or water.

Then again, maybe it isn’t such an outlandish idea.

 

 

As long ago as the 1970s the USSR sponsored research into the nutrient value of several types of algae. Today, that research is the foundation for techniques that are being used to produce some brands of nutritional supplements. In order to have a large area that is climate controlled, some companies utilize underground caves. Additionally, several niche businesses have begun to spring up which produce both fish and vegetables in a self-sustaining system. These methods utilize the filtered water from the fish to provide nutrients to the vegetables which are grown in trays of irrigated pea gravel. Solar energy provides full spectrum growing lights for both the plants and fish, which are fed automatically. And, yes, it is conceivable that these techniques could be used to provide food, clean air and water within a cave environment.

The possibility that human and animal life could be sustained within a cave system isn’t the only surprise.

An imaginative writer from rural Tennessee managed to put all of these pieces together and use it as one of the elements in her new book, The Vision. Debi Pearl and her husband Michael Pearl reside in an area where many of these caves exist. Together, they operate a ministry known as No Greater Joy. Already an accomplished writer of books and magazine articles, this is Debi’s first venture into fiction. Rather than a wild, fanciful flight of imagination, Debi Pearl’s The Vision takes the reader along many dramatic twists and turns – much like the caves of Tennessee – which leave the reader gasping and wondering if this could really happen.

 

 

Debi delivers on her promise to both entertain and inform in The Vision, the first in a series. Order your copy of Debi Pearl’s The Vision today.

 

 

The Vision by Debi Pearl -- Fiction set in Reality

PURCHASE FROM BARNES & NOBLE FOR BONUSES
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Order THE VISION by Debi Pearl from BarnesandNoble.com on November 3rd or 4th, 2009 (offer good on these days only) and you will receive coupon codes from the following companies offering 25% discounts from their webstores. Discounts cannot be combined with other discounts.

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You will also receive free downloadable ebooks and bonus gifts from Gary D. Foster and others at http://www.garydfoster.com/

 

Here's How To Order:
On November 3rd or 4th...
1. Visit http://www.debipearl.com/pages/buy
2. Click the Barnes & Noble link to place your order.
3. Email your receipt immediately to Mel Cohen to receive your coupon codes.
Coupon codes expire on 11/9/09.

Debi Pearl's latest literary work is entitled The Vision (ISBN: 978-0-9819737-0-8). A dramatic work of fiction, The Vision follows its main characters as they devote themselves to a controversial mission amid community disruption, political upheaval and environmental concerns.

 

The largest environmental concern is a probable eruption of Yellowstone. Some may think that asking readers to accept this possibility may be asking too much. This thinking is corrected when one realizes that Yellowstone is classified as a super volcano and may be due for an eruption.

 

The US Yellowstone National Park is located on a caldera. A bowl-shaped depression in the earth, calderas cover molten lava near the surface of the earth. Roughly three miles below the surface of Yellowstone's caldera, earthquakes are focused.

 

Yellowstone's size and its dormancy qualify it as a super volcano.

 

According to Bill McGuire of the Benfield Greig Hazard Research Centre, a professor at the University of London, a super eruption is "a volcanic explosion big enough to dwarf all others and with a reach great enough to affect everyone on the planet."

 

Exploding every second, it would take 1,000 atomic bombs to equal the force of a super-volcano's eruption. The volcanic crater of Yellowstone is so large that Tokyo (the world's largest city) could fit inside.

 

According to geologists, an eruption takes place every 600,000 to 700,000 years. By their calculations, the last massive eruption took place six hundred and forty thousand years ago. Said differently, Yellowstone could erupt any time within a few thousand years.

 

Estimations are that within a six hundred mile radius, there would be widespread death to both humans and animals (90%) if Yellowstone blew. Deadly ash, inhaled by survivors, would turn to mud in lungs, claiming lives of many throughout the United States. Not only humans, but livestock would succumb, leading to food shortages.

 

Transportation would screech to a halt. While temporary, planes would be grounded and railroads halted along with other means of travel.

 

Particulate matter would be spewed into the atmosphere with the force of the blast. There they would become sharp, jagged bits of rock and glass. An immediate result of this cloud of matter would be that day would turn to twilight or thick darkness. Lightening would flash while thunder sounded and an odor of sulfur would permeate for hundreds of miles. Sounds would be muffled while the thunder rumbled across an unnaturally quieted area. For the next twelve to sixty hours, ash would continue to fall heavily. On average, the weight of a foot of firmly packed ash could cause rooftops to collapse.

 

Clouds seeded by volcanic material would yield unseasonable rains, creating a slimy residue on all surfaces. This rainfall would produce dangerous mudflows. Contamination would plague drinking water. Roadways would become slick and clogged engines would fail. Electric power would likely be interrupted as power-stations also deal with engine failures.

 

 

For several weeks or even years, the layer of ash that had settled could be stirred up by human activity. Masks would be required to prevent the inhalation of ash into air passages. The diminished air quality would lead to compromised health among the surviving population. There would be widespread crop failure and depletion of vegetation.

 

Sunshine would be muted because of the matter in the upper atmosphere. Europe's skies would be red within days of the eruption. Two to three weeks later, Yellowstone's sulfuric acid cloud would blanket the earth. There would be a global cooling of the climate resulting from the sulfur released into the atmosphere. Normal temps might not begin to return for six years to a decade later.

 

Scientists also believe that the monsoons would not occur because of changes in the temperature in the southern hemisphere. This lack of rain would result in widespread food shortages for Asia.

 

Yellowstone National Park scientists believe that there will be plenty of warning -- weeks or even years -- before such an event. "If the park were poised for a major eruption, the signs wouldn't be subtle," stated Hank Heasler, park geologist.

 

The Vision, by Debi Pearl, is a fictional account. Yet, regarding the super-volcano of Yellowstone, there is some unsettling reality.

 

 

Cooling Your Living Space

Help keep your living environment cooler using evaporative cooling techniques.

SLEEPING PORCH
Before the advent of air conditioning in hot climates, rural homes were often built with wide porches (porticos or decks). During the sweltering summer months, these porches were used for sleeping quarters. Screens attempted to keep biting bugs away. Hanging wet sheets over the screens and running a fan helped keep the relative temperature on the sleeping porch cooler than the surrounding hot air.

SWAMP COOLER
In less humid regions, a contraption known as a swamp cooler is used to cool homes. Mounted in a window, this machine draws air from the outside over wet pads and transfers the cooled air into the home. While this cooler may not reduce the temperature as modern air conditioning units, it does provide relief from the ambient heat.

Animation of swamp cooler courtesy of Adobeair.com

MAKE YOUR OWN AIR CONDITIONER
In many areas, air conditioners are considered necessities. A broken air conditioner can be expensive to repair and even more expensive to replace. If you are looking for a way to avoid the expense of running your air conditioner, get by until you can have yours replaced, or if you are just looking for a way to cool the house without making a major purchase . . . THIS is the project for you!

 

You will need:
* A Styrofoam Cooler With Lid
* A Fan
* 1/4 inch Copper Tubing
* 2 Lengths of 1/4 inch Vinyl Tubing
* Zipties
* An Aquarium Water Pump
* Water
* Scissors

Click the video link below for instructions on how to create your own air conditioner (a GREAT educational experiment for the kids).