I don't believe any of us will get out of this without some serious discomfort. I believe that the best thing you can do (with Y2K or anything) is to prepare for this mentally. In my career I spend a lot of time teaching people to do visualization techniques. Play out the scenario (weight loss, healing, Y2K, you name it) and makes it so much easier to go through it and achieve your goals. Are goal is a little different here - Survival. Doesn't matter, it will still make things easier if this goes down the way most of us intent it will.

All the preparations in the world will go straight out the door if you not mentally and spiritually ready for this. The toughest part of this I believe will be to deal with the flurry of emotions that come gushing out like a dam exploding.

I don't believe that we as "alarmists" and "doomsayers", will experience the same pain and anguish (emotionally) - hell we've been playing out the gloom & doom scenario in our minds for quite sometime. It is called visualization - there are sports psychologists making millions practicing these techniques with are super athletes (with tremendous success).

Who will be the ones to riot - I'll put my Money $$ on the Pollyanna's

Matt

-- Matt (Butenam1@aol.com), January 18, 1999

Answers

Matt: Many of us have already played out the scenario, and speaking for myself, which scenario should I play on? The worst case, the middle of the road, or the bump in the road? I have visualized in my mind gangs coming up my road, spanning out, and our gang picking them off from inside (that's worst case). Then I visuale the disposing of them and which would be the best way to do it. The worst case means just complete chaos and the worst mentally to handle. I visualize it as being in a war zone and defending my home and family. Am I mentally prepared for that? Well, yes I am at the present moment, but if and when the time comes can I really handle it since I've never fought in a war. Middle of the road scenario to me means food shortages, long lines everywhere, martial law, etc. I can handle that with no problem at all because I am prepared and will stay at home. Bump in the road means a little hassle but still no problem whatsoever. The emotions of storing and wondering if your nuts for doing it or your just being wise and frugal is a mind trip in itself. But you keep telling yourself if TSHTF I'll be okay food wise and artillary wise, but I'm still not going to be happy about the situation. I guess that's where the whole mental well being lies doesn't it?

-- bardou (bardou@baloney.com), January 18, 1999.

Better to panic early. When I first realized the possibilities for Y2K, I was in panic mode. I could not sleep well. I got the the point when I had to face my worse fears and deal with them.. I visualized the worse and dealt with it. Preparation also does wonders for the nerves.

-- Sue (conibear@gateway.net), January 18, 1999.

Might we consider a goal that can be visualized as more than mere survival?

What options, possibilities might we avail to that would prepare us mentally, and preclude panic?

Here's one illustration from Tom Atlee: Imagining Successful Community Dialogues about Y2K

"There are as many ways to design a community dialogue program as there are ways to design a house. I offer the following scenario just to provide an example of the kind of innovative approaches that are possible."

Imagining Successful Community Dialogues about Y2K can be found within "Raising the Quality of Dialogue about Y2K" posted at: http://www.co- intelligence.org/y2k_dialogquality.html.

~C~

-- Critt Jarvis (Wilmington, NC) (critt@critt.com), January 18, 1999.

The concept of visualization has been around for a long time. I have used it also, and have found that it works best when you concentrate on a specific goal, visualizing yourself realizing the goal, in as much detail as possible. Certainly, this is also possible to do with some Y2K goals, but I think in a more limited way. You can visualize in detail an upcoming meeting with a community group, going over what you will say, handout, and expected questions with your possible responses in detail. But when it comes to survival, or something that is mutli-faceted, I'm not sure how effective visualization can be. There are just too many unknowns and too much haze and guesswork to be specific enough to perform a realistic visualization. So I think its value is directly proportional to just how specific and detailed the visualization is, and many aspects of Y2K do not lend themselves to this, while some do.

-- Rob Michaels (sonofdust@net.com), January 18, 1999.

I find it hard to visualize something that I have never lived or dreamed, ie., worst case scenario. But when I watch on TV what is happening in the Balkans, then I can visualize it. There will be riots, fighting, killing and dying in the worst case scenario. Americans, of all ethnic backgrounds, are not going to lay down like the European Jew did. We too may be in denial for a while, but will fight back whether its with each other or "them", meaning the gov't. I am not saying any of the fighting, etc., makes any logical sense, but it will happen. I pray we don't ever get to "worst case" scenario. I am prepared to handle the rest. There was a comment as to how to dispose of bodies of people you have shot that were intent on taking what you have and endangering your family. Don't bother, the turned out and hungry dogs will have them before you can bury them. I think we have to consider that we are going to have to shoot a lot of dogs. People are not going to feed animals when they cannot feed themselves. Dogs of all kinds quickly form packs that can be dangerous. Just some thoughts, depressing as they are.

-- Taz Richardson (Tassie@aol.com), January 19, 1999.