Financial Doom-Sayers Cause Plague Outbreak!

What steps are you taking to inoculate yourself against the onslaught of bad news?

It is a well known fact that when you are mentally stressed, your body is less likely to resist disease. Is there something you can do to increase your resistance to the likes of “Bad News Bob”. Bad News Bob is my name for the person that greets you with a wretched little smile as he is getting ready to put another nail into your financial coffin. The ‘award winning’ Gloom and Doomer of the TV network that takes great pride in telling you just how bad you are doing, no matter how well off you think you are.

Bad News Bob is just like any infectious disease by making you feel bad, lowering your resistance, and making you susceptible to all kinds of unhealthy outside influence. When you are sick, it makes it pretty hard to think of creating wealth and a good life.

Bad News Bob’s job is to make you feel bad. He makes you feel bad, but at the same time you come back to watch him, probably hoping that he will have a change of heart and reveal something uplifting for a change. Not a Chance. The reason why Bad News Bob is so revered by his colleagues is that he is a ‘specialist’ in making loads of money for the TV station by telling bad news. There is a saying in the News Industry,

“News Sells, But BAD NEWS sells better!”

So what can you do to defend yourself against Bad News Bob? We have choices. One of the choices we have is also the best way to get the point across to the news channel. That choice is to TURN OFF Bad News Bob. When people turn off their TV or turn over to another channel when the Bad News Bobs come on, the Network begins to loose market share. They begin to loose money. If we consolidate enough people to turn away from the Bad News Bobs, the industry will listen, because they must.

We, in the Self Improvement Industry have a different saying:

“Garbage In, Garbage Out”

That simply means that the information that you allow in, affects how you think about things. There is no nice way to say this; if you continuously strive to put good encouraging and uplifting information into your mind, you will tend to reinforce the good things happening in your life. If you choose to let Bad News Bob be your guidance system, what do you think your outcome will be.

Some of you are actually thinking, “But don’t they have our best interests in mind when they are telling us these things? No, they have their best interests in mind, not yours.”

Be AWARE out there!

Shannon Panzo

The 10 Top Strategies for Marketing Your Business

“What’s Your Top 10”

A Business Marketing Exercise


Recently I was asked, what make your product different from other products in the market? The question was asked by a promoter wanting to promote our seminar using the top 10 things that make it different. This made me stop and think. This was something I had not assessed for some time. It would be a valuable exercise for me. It is basic marketing, and if you have a business, you should revisit this periodically with your business. Once I got started, I came up with even more than 10 things. That’s great!

This is an excellent exercise for any business that wants to market what is has to offer. List THE attributes about your business or its products. Start with a short list of key things – an outline. These attributes should be what makes your product stand out in the market. It could be unique properties. It could be a better design. Or, it could be the combination of attributes together defining the uniqueness above the competition.

If you have No Other Quality – Sell Yourself!

If you cannot think of anything that makes your business or it’s products special, then you need to look elsewhere to build your list. First, SELL YOURSELF. If your business has nothing different to offer, then offer yourself. Who are you? Why would you be better for someone to deal with than someone else?

We have a local plumber that projects himself that he is ‘sexy’. Why? Because plumbing is NOT sexy, it isn’t even slightly attractive. So, he sells himself as the ‘sexy’ plumber. It sets him apart from other plumbers. (We don’t know if they are ‘sexy’, because they don’t tell us.) Don’t worry, he most likely charges like all the other plumbers – lots.

Now, if you can’t think of any way that you can sell your business attributes, your product attributes, or yourself, you need to start asking yourself, “Why am I in business?” The good thing is that you haven’t run out of options of what you can pull attributes from. How about relatives or friends?

SEX Sells!

There is an irrigation company (What, more plumber stories?) that often showed a pretty teenage girl at the end of their television ads. Many men went into the business thinking she would be behind the service counter. I never saw her there, but I did find out that she is the daughter of one of the owners of the company. Helen of Troy launched a thousand ships – a pretty face can sell pipe!

If you have Deep Pockets…

If your still low on ideas, you can BUY a ‘face’! No this is not a bad hair day, or major cosmetic surgery, this is giving your company a facelift with a ‘frontrunner’. Someone that gives good face, good voice, etc. to get your business seen. Sure, it’s still your company, and you still make the decisions.

If you ever want a marketing campaign to have at least a chance of working, start with your list of attributes. Once you have your outline list, expound on each attribute so that you can take full advantage of it.

I am going to give you an example of this process by using my own business. This is the actual exercise I went through. And while I was going through it myself, I thought that this would be a great topic to write about. Many times you may hear similar techniques in most business builder manuals, but most do not give you real life examples you can compare with.

What Makes My Own Business Unique – I’ll Show You.

In the topics I give, you’ll think that some of these attributes may sound similar to start with, but you’ll soon see that there is quite a difference between the points. So, here is where we start.

Top 10 (plus) Things that make Brain Management and Mental Photography different from other mind disciplines:


1.Invented by Richard Welch the founder, my Mentor.
2.We ARE the original.
3.Invented separate form All other mind disciplines.
4.Our organization specializes in 1 program.
5.Since we have 1 program, we have been able to simplify the tasks making it timely (many programs take more time)
6.We’re not here to sell you something else. Therefore, the class has a different agenda, YOURS!
7.Taught on a scientific level, ALL religions are okay with it.
8.FREE refreshers for life
9.As the course is upgraded, refreshers don’t pay to re-attend and gain the updates.
10.Anti-guruism. You are your own BEST Guru!
11.We don’t need to know your problems. Non-Intrusive.
12.Everyone can use it because it’s natural and you were born with it.

Refine Your List

Now that I have my list, I want to further define what I know about each of these topics. I want to bring out the best in what each topic offers.

The BEST thing about ALL of these attributes is they have always been there and haven’t changed. They have stood the test of time.

1. Invented by Richard Welch the founder, my Mentor: Richard Welch, my Mentor for over 17 years, invented Mental Photography from speed-reading in 1975. That’s over 30 years of research, development, and simplification, and creating a completely in-depth understanding of every nuance the product holds. Richard is the absolute expert in the field.

2. We ARE the original: It is important that this is NOT an extension of someone else’s work. There are many mind disciplines that have used other works to create their version. That action waters down the effectiveness.

3. Invented separate form All other mind disciplines: From the beginning, Richard was advised to develop this separate from all other mind disciplines. By him choosing to follow that advice, he has achieved greatness in his field. Richard is known around the world as the “Father of Mental Photography”. Others have even tried to claim that Mental Photography is related to other mind disciplines, in an effort to capitalize on the ‘good name’.

4. Our organization specializes in 1 program: In contrast to so many other organizations, we have 1 product, with several ways to deliver it. This enables us to be exceptional in our ability to help you achieve your best results. In contrast, organizations that have multiple product lines, have many challenges to overcome, including consistency, or if the products actually fit together.
If you are in the marketing game, this is the best way to make gobs of money, by breaking a system into segments that you can charge for each segment, or ‘products’. You just need to position your company to keep selling to those same ‘loyal’ clients, and pumping them for more and more money, for them to achieve the next level. This leads to points 5 & 6.

5. Since we have 1 program, we have been able to simplify the tasks making it timely: (multiple products take more time) The easiest way to start explaining this is to explain what happens when you have multiple products. It takes you more time to learn each ‘part’. Then, it takes you more time to employ each part daily. If the parts are inconsistent, or in some cases contrary to other parts, you’ll quickly become discouraged with using the ‘parts’. Even good ‘parts’, with benefits, are often left behind this way.
In contrast, all parts of our system are complete and consistent with all of the other parts. This seamlessness is referred to as “synergy”. The value of all of the parts we teach you, are worth more than if you were to learn them separately. And it takes much LESS TIME to employ the whole system, than it would take if you were only using ‘parts’.

6. We’re not here to sell you something else. Therefore, the class has a different agenda, YOURS! Quite often you will experience that you are being sold on the next best thing while you are attending a seminar. We don’t need to do this, because we have 1 thing. (You’ve already bought the one thing we offer.) That 1 thing is all-encompassing, and can be employed anywhere in life from this time forward. So, you are getting THE ENTIRE SYSTEM UP FRONT! This encourages you to use the whole system NOW,… not later as you accumulate pieces. And because we are not pushing things for you to buy, the class agenda switches! You will experience the agenda of YOU ‘learning’.

7. Taught on a scientific level, ALL religions are okay with it: There are many good teachings that are religiously based that are overlooked because of beliefs. Our seminar is NOT religiously based. People from all walks of life and religions attend without a problem.

8. FREE refreshers for life: Once you come through our seminar, you have access to FREE Refreshers for life. With exception of a small facilitation fee, usually $100 – $200, you will never be asked to pay for the seminar again. You will still need to provide Identification though.

9 As the course is upgraded, refreshers don’t pay to re-attend and gain the updates: You will even be able to receive upgrades at no costs by attending a class as a refresher. Even computer software charges for their upgrades, even if there is no obvious advantage. Beat that!

When my PC was working at it’s best was when it was on Windows 95 with all the patches. Then, everyone quit supporting Windows 95. I had to change to a ‘buggy’ Windows 98. Finally, when my Windows 98 SE was running at its finest hour, everyone stopped supporting it. So, now I have had to move to another platform, just so I can run a new level of programs that the old unsupported Windows 98 SE couldn’t run. Eventually, they will do the same thing with this ‘buggy’ operating system. They will improve it with patches until they have it running optimally, then it too will be obsolete and unsupported. The question is WHY?
I was happy with the performance of the old system. Then I was forced onto platforms that are inefficient and cumbersome. There IS 1 final detail I left out, actually the most critical one. Dollars! You see, each time there was an upgrade; I had to pay more money to get it, without any obvious benefit!
Since Microsoft is now giving away absolutely insane amounts of money to charity, why not give a little back to the little people that helped get them there instead, or is that considered heresy? Give away the NEXT big operating system for FREE, and this time, have it fixed to ‘work’ without all the ‘bugs’! (I can dream,… ?)

10. Anti-guruism: We teach independent thinking and decision making, without the need for a guru to hold your hand, tell you how to think, or tell you how to live. You don’t need a re-charge, because it comes from within you. You are your own BEST Guru. We teach you HOW.

11. We don’t need to know your problems: We provide the tools to you to deal with your own problems. The system is non-intrusive to your life or problems. If you still chose to consult with us on how to apply the system to your problem, we will give you sign-posts to observe and act upon. It is your journey. You still need to put in a little work to get your best result. If we just give you the answers, we are cheating you out of a valuable experience.

12. Everyone can use it because it’s natural and you were born with it: everything that we teach is based on the natural abilities you were born with. You have just been taught out of using them. But since you were born with them, you never actually lose them, you’re just out of touch. We help you get ‘re-acquainted’ with them.

As I was building this list, even more great attributes came up. I needed to draw the line somewhere. What I wanted to point out to you is:

HOW DO YOU EXPECT TO RUN YOUR BUSINESS IF YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT IT IS!

… a Little Secret!

Now, I will let you in on a little secret. This secret may be the most valuable piece of information that you ever get, or you can simply disregard it as rubbish. That’s your choice. There is another way you can use this same process. Instead of using it for your business, use it for YOU!

Find out what your TOP 10 attributes are! It becomes a real benefit to yourself when you find out what YOU OFFER, who YOU really are, and how you can impact those around you.

I sincerely hope you had the propensity to get to the end of this article. The best value was actually at the end. Good Luck. Have a great life.

We teach you how to use and benefit yourself by using the Brain Management Process.

Train The Functions of Your Brain – Brain Management

Did you know you are what you perceive?

What you think about yourself becomes your reality your own self-fulfilling prophecy.

Do you know that your beliefs define your reality?

This limits you for everything you do in life, even success.

What is “Whole Brain Learning”?

There are ways that you can exercise your brain to become stronger Whole Brain Learning incorporates ALL parts of the brain And achieves great results.

Train the Functions of Your Brain

Beliefs create your reality. They may be your interpretation of who you are or your interpretation of what others think of your capabilities.

Beliefs are manifested in the conscious mind as well as in the subconscious mind. Your mind must be free of certain limiting beliefs before insight can occur spontaneously.

A quality of this insight is that you see the “whole” instantaneously, rather than only the “parts”.

Brain Management, using Mental Photography is a very advanced Whole Brain Learning and Hemispheric Balancing. It super-excites your brain on all levels of consciousness, simultaneously. This balance will guide you in reaching your full potential.

I believe some of the points listed here will give you a clearer insight and perspective into the person you are, AND the person you would like to be. Please just take a moment on each topic and ponder how such an idea might impact your life. We want the same thing that you want – to be HAPPY!

“You are what you perceive”

You must first realize “you are what you perceive”. Unless you change your inward consciousness, you cannot change your outward reality. You must see things as a whole and you are a part of that whole. The outside (of your life) integrally connects to the inside (what motivates you at a deeper level). By just using words (conscious level), without going within (subconscious), limits your results.

Programming your Subconscious?

The Brain Management system teaches you how to program your own subconscious to promote positive changes in your life. This is a simple, quick non-intrusive format for success that can be achieved easily. Many people in the world today wish to keep their personal life confidential. Brain Management gives you the tools to make changes or address your issues that hold you back.

Changing Paradigms – OR – Modifying your reality to a better one.

Create your Happiness!

Brain Management recognizes and justly informs you that your paradigms will be challenged by what you learn. (This is NOT taught in school!) You will most likely be exposed to ideas that exist outside of your present belief system.

You will choose to accept some, but other ideas and ideals, you won’t.

The objective is for you to find a greater reality for yourself and venture beyond your limitations to reach new goals. If you learn to do this in one way, you can then use that success to allow yourself success in other directions.

Most people find that they really don’t want to be where they are in life. Do you feel as unfulfilled as that? Then you need to work through your challenges, remove their limitations, and enhance your life in a positive way. Recognizing your need is often your first big challenge.

TRUE Story: One of my clients (actually, this happens to allot of my clients) went back to her life after receiving training from me that would strengthen her brain, clear the cobwebs, allow her to focus on what she truly wanted in life, and the techniques to make it come into her reality.

Within a week she rang me up. She was struggling under the weight of how quickly EVERYTHING was coming into her reality. All types of wonderful things. Everything that she truly wanted to have happen DID! (It’s a nice problem to have.) But she felt guilty! Guilt was now her burden. She actually felt that she was not worthy to receive what was handed to her on a gold platter.

We talked about what she wanted to achieve, AND to deal with her new problem. We, together, decided that her best remedy would be that she could turn the flow on or off — like a faucet. (good analogy) So, together, we came up with a suitable way to moderate the flow of great things happening to her.

After she plugged her remedy in, she felt much more in control. If things got too hectic, she would just turn it off until she was ready for the next batch of good things to happen to her.

Whenever you experience this type of thing, it doesn’t only happen to you, it also influences all of those around you in a positive way too.

EVERYONE benefits!

Enhance your creativity

By assimilating music with Mental Photography and Whole Brain Balancing techniques, a person can optimize their musical talents. The information is treated and converted like a language and installed into the subconscious.

Imagine…. a solo pianist watched by thousands in the audience, or perhaps millions by television. The only things that are real to the pianist is the piano, herself/himself and the flow of music – nothing else in the world matters; he/she is totally locked in.

Emotions well up within the pianist.

Those emotions too, flow with the music to the audience with such beautiful intensity.

We teach you how to use and benefit yourself by using the Brain Management Process.

Global Warming – Politicians Passion or Subversive Fabrication

A note from Shannon Panzo, the author, after the fact: It has been brought to my attention that some of the people that read my messages may think this particular article is outside of my character and my usual writing. This suggestion that I am outside my normal objectives is completely wrong. This is why:

First, one of the first premises for this blog is to challenge – a think tank; a pressure cooker for the mind. These have been there since it’s inception.

Second, This was an article meant to exercise your brain. By giving you a compelling argument, you need to not only have plausible answers and directions, but the best answers have fundamental, logical, or progressive foundation to base the comment on. You can see this in my responses. A well written and justified response would get my ‘Kudos’. A half-baked response would usually gain a ‘what if’ or a thought provoking suggestion. A response that was unfounded and didn’t have a basis to stand on was gently brought to the attention of its author (So as not to alienate anyone).

This exercise was not about winners and losers. It was not about what side you are on. It was not about what we must do in the end. It was about response! I wanted to see how people would respond to this article. I obviously struck a few cords. As you THINK about HOW to answer the questions raised, this exercises your mind. It commits you to think outside the square, and causes you to GROW!

In short you could say that I gave you a Brain Building task. So, no, this article is not out of character. It is with the true theme of Mind to Mind – The Brain Accelerator! [Please Read On…]

PS: I also congratulate the people that participated in the challenge by way of your comments. You made my efforts worth while!

Exercise Your Brain…

As I have mentioned in the past, Mind to MindThe Brain Accelerator, is a place that bring you Mental Puzzles that affect how our lives unfold. By questioning your mind – Why? You stimulate your mental capacity to grow, to strengthen your brain and increase mind power. Consider this a real life applications of your ability to observe and use your brain power.

Absolutely Remarkable!

That is the only thing my observations have revealed about the controversy of Global Warming. For years now, I have observed the media and the politicians led down the merry path “For the good of all”. A path that has more holes in it than aged Swiss cheese. From pollution inhibiting ventures such as the Kyoto Protocol to the Carbon Trading Scheme, there is one thing that has the scientists clutching at straws.

After an alleged 30 year warming trend, since 2001 the temperature has flatlined. All the global warming that should have taken place in the last 8 years has not. On March 2, 2009, Michael Reilly writer for Discovery News reported:

According to a new study in Geophysical Research Letters, global warming may have hit a speed bump and could go into hiding for decades.


Earth’s climate continues to confound scientists. Following a 30-year trend of warming, global temperatures have flatlined since 2001 despite rising greenhouse gas concentrations, and a heat surplus that should have cranked up the planetary thermostat.


“This is nothing like anything we’ve seen since 1950,” Kyle Swanson of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee said. “Cooling events since then had firm causes, like eruptions or large-magnitude La-Ninas. This current cooling doesn’t have one.”


Instead, Swanson and colleague Anastasios Tsonis think a series of climate processes have aligned, “conspiring” to chill the climate. In 1997 and 1998, the tropical Pacific Ocean warmed rapidly in what Swanson called a “super El Nino event.” It sent a shock wave through the oceans and atmosphere, jarring their circulation patterns into unison.


How does this square with temperature records from 2005-2007, by some measurements among the warmest years on record? When added up with the other four years since 2001, Swanson said the overall trend is flat, even though temperatures should have gone up by 0.2 degrees Centigrade (0.36 degrees Fahrenheit) during that time.

Discussion:

This is intended to be Part 1 of a Series of Blog Dialogs that I would like to get your input on. I am going to start the ball rolling here:

First, I want to make a statement. I do believe that the human race is slowly destroying the world we live in. I do believe we pollute too much. I do believe we should be proactive in taking stance against pollution.

I do believe that renewable sources of energy have long been put aside for the benefit of the wealth-lust of the entities that make money from the having it the other way – their way. I do believe that there are agendas ongoing that are not revealed to the public. Agendas that would really make most people reconsider which side they stand on.

The largest polluting countries in the world are also the countries that choose NOT to sign onto limiting structures such as the Kyoto Protocol. India, China, the USA, to name a few of the big players.

Another interesting Phenomenon that happened in the past year – The hole in the ozone layer closed over Antarctica. (That’s Nice.) WHY?

Now, even though the inhabitants of Earth have been cutting down forests, polluting at a rate never before experienced (it did still go up), the rise of temperatures have stopped over the last 8 years. Is it time for rejoicing? Of course not. It simply means that our ‘gloom and doom’ scientist have bit off more than they can chew.

A Loud Minority Threatens Clear Thinking

At the same time the scientific community has been split on this matter. Because of a LOUD minority of people causing a landslide of public opinion, the opposing scientists have been in the background, studying the facts and shaking their heads.

Times and Technology Has Changed

There are places on Earth that even today are considered virtually uninhabitable. Since 1970 weather stations have been set up in these normally inhospitable environments, like the deserts. Why only have these places been monitored from the 1970s onward? Because technology allowed us to finally be able to remotely communicate with the stations, through satellites that were not in orbit before then.

Flawed Data May Critically Damage the Studies

Have the studies uninherited the legacy of all these nice hot temperature readings, no. So, as more weather monitoring stations were installed since 1970, the temperature of the Earth increased. Also, during that same period, many more air-conditioned buildings and asphalt surfaces, such as parking lots were placed in cities. The result is localized increase in temperature. Were these temperatures accounted for, no. Even if the studies had been calibrated for them, they are inherently flawed due to the sheer number of what can be erroneous temperature reading from mis-calibrated instruments providing the data.

The reason I mentioned air conditioning is in 1970, it was considered a luxury to have air conditioning. Air conditioning removes heat from inside and transfers it to the outside. The result is local air temperature goes up. Silly, right? Just think what percentage of buildings use air conditioning now compared to 1970.

The Double Edged Sword is Destroyed

A few days ago, NASA launched a one-of Global Climate Monitoring Satellite. It failed to disengage from the rocket and burned up in the atmosphere. The planning stage of this satellite started during the 30 year heat-up. It took years to build. It was destroyed before it could monitor a single temperature to prove, or maybe “DIS-PROVE” that Global Warming is happening at all from man-made sources.

FACT: Every planet in the solar system is heating up right now because the sun is putting out more energy during its natural cycle. Could it be that the recorded temperature differences are just coming from the sun, more than man causing it at this time? Sure, humans indeed are adding to the problem. But maybe, we are the insignificant problem at the moment.

Your Challenge

The gauntlet has been thrown down. By picking it up, you will be enhancing your mind power and increasing your ability to observe, think, and analyze using your brain. Are you up to the challenge?

As I said before, I want you to get involved. I am going to stop at this point. I really do want to know how you feel about all the hoopla. If you are going to take a side, Tell Me Why. I am an observer. I see both sides. I want to know how you feel about this, and why.

Your Question is: Out of a score of 1 to 10, please rank whether a 10 meaning that you agree with the doom-sayers, and we are going to completely and irreversibly wreck our environment within the near future at the current increasing rate of pollution and carbon production, or 1 that it’s a complete fabrication and it’s another money grubbing scheme of special interests groups, or somewhere in between. Please include your reasons why you think this way.

Please Enter your observations in the Comments area.

Learn to Count Your Blessings – Mental Building Blocks

Learn to Count Your Blessings – Mental Building Blocks

There is one certainty that each of us should look to when building Brain Power and using Mind Over Matter to solve our problems. We should look to those less fortunate. People just like you and me. People that find themselves in circumstances they never conceived would happen to them. People that never thought they would need to steel themselves against adversity to the level that some are forced to endure.

The immensity of the human spirit is immeasurable in the worst of times. Look to these people as a point of reference for overcoming adversity – a guiding light. Their lessons can be your guide.

In the wake of the Victoria Fires, it gave me the opportunity to look deep – to appreciate who and what I have around me. No matter what I may be dealing with at any given time, can compare to what others may be going through.

People that have taken the opportunity in their lives to develop their mental strength and abilities are also taking steps to prepare themselves against the hard times. Everyone has them, but when you have developed device to see yourself through to the other side of the hurdles, it makes the preparation very worthwhile.

Recently, someone suggested that I do some writing about the fires, the death, anguish, and heroism emerging like the rising phoenix when the fires hit Victoria Australia. I attempted to look at this as a topic of my writing, but I write from my heart and the truth. Since I had not been directly affected by the fires, I decided not to write about others experiences. I will leave that to the media. What I have decided to write about is my observations, and how I have used this opportunity to count my blessings.

Setting the Stage

Since my readers are International, I need to tell you a little about what was – before the fires. We had had a cool, lower than normal temperature, summer up to this point. Suddenly, we were having the highest ever recorded temperatures and southbound winds. This set up an extreme fire danger condition. For many years the residents of Victoria bushland had been worried of the buildup of native scrub compiling and creating an explosive fire danger.

Politics Deemed Just as Guilty

Politics had prevented the clearing of this debris in the winter months, as it had been in previously. About 10-15 years ago, through political pressure from ‘green’ groups, back-burning and clearing had all about ceased to reduce fuel buildup. Clearing of the deadwood had been reduced to only 2-3% of all the forest areas that used to be available to gather wood from. Cattle and sheep that had grazed and automatically cleared many of these areas were banned from these areas. Owners were not even allowed to clear the fuel from their own property for fear of heavy fines, even imprisonment.

The entire area had become a time bomb – primed and ready to explode. The resulting conflagration led to losses of such magnitude never before seen in Australia. When fire travels 3 KM per minute, huge fireballs prevail before a wall of fire 120 feet or more into the sky, it is overwhelmingly apparent that nothing much is going to stand against it. It sounds like a freight train coming your way, much like the sound of a tornado. The only word that does not even come close to describing the effect – HORRIFIC!

Lessons Learned Elsewhere as Example

I used to live in America. In the area that I am from there is a technique that is taught in fire prone areas called “Stewardship”. Stewardship is a way of dealing with the natural fire dangers in a way that benefits everyone. The conservationists decided long ago that it was better to clear the debris and scrub than to keep putting so many people at risk, even reducing the amount of trees on a property to reduce the overall fire danger. It’s not a perfect solution. But it is a solution that both sides could live with.

People love nature and want to live amongst it. But, sometimes those people in their obsession to live amongst the trees, overlook the obvious hazards. Most of the people that were killed in the fires never gave it a second thought that they may be victims of their own passion.

A Change in Attitude

The fires came through, and things have changed considerably – literally overnight. People that have never been exposed to the raw carnage that followed are having to deal with situations that usually only trained professionals must deal with. Innocence is shattered and can never be returned. The shock of what has happened hasn’t even had time to set in for most of them.

The human spirit is resilient. Most of these people have been traumatized and need counseling. Even the Firefighters that have had many years of experience have never had this type of exposure. As they are driving by certain homes, they know of how people perished there. The whole landscape is some areas looks, feel, and smells like a war zone.

My heart goes out to these people. I have offered my assistance to those that are interested.

I Count My Blessings

I am very blessed that I have not been around the fires. I am located quite a long way from where the loss of life is high. But, we still get the reports on the radio and TV. There were fires around my area, but the loss of life was not high. Only about 80-100 homes destroyed. A recent report had over 1800 homes had gone up in flames, and over 7000 people displaced, hundreds of thousands of acres burned, and the expected dead to be over 300.

Seeing the pictures of the re-united families, and some that will never be re-united, gives me the opportunity to be thankful for the people I hold dear. They are beside me and with me. I don’t have the added stress of looking after property, livestock or pets that have been scalded or dying. I never even lost power through this. I count myself as being so blessed. The potential remains that the fires could erupt again in my area. But, I am grateful that I have the opportunity to observe heartbreak from a distance.

Even though I can feel for them, there is no way that I can feel the same as what they feel. It is their experience. It is an experience I would not want to walk in. They will carry the scars with them forever. It has changed their physical landscape as well as their emotional landscape. They will be forever changed.

Time Heals Many Wounds

Time will heal many of the wounds, but people won’t forget. Many of them will never forgive the people responsible – from government bureaucracy and self-serving politicians that encouraged the tinder to build up into a time-bomb, to the arsonists that lit the deadliest of the fires. The arsonists have committed mass murder to the level of terrorism.

Finally, there is solid discussion and inevitable action taking place in the government to provide substantial firebreaks, back-burning and clearing of debris and fuel statewide and beyond. It appears that the people are choosing to ignore political groups that have brought them to this precipice of decision.

The Aussie Spirit Survives

No matter how bad you think your problems are, there is always someone worse off than you. Following the shell-shock of the results of the fires, within 1 week of the fires erupting, huge efforts were mounted to pull off charity functions of every sort imaginable. At date, the Red Cross has already exceeded $100 Million in donations.

Help is coming in from the International community as well. Even the Queen of England is Donating personally to the injured. It is just amazing to see where all the outpourings are coming from! Condolences have even come from enemy states.

Reaction of the People and Government

The government has not put a cap on the expenditures to get these people back on their feet. Holden/GM has donated new cars for a year for those affected. The outpourings from the populace is absolutely incredible. It may actually be the trigger that gives our economy the needed stimulus to get things revved up again.

People, no matter how they are hurting from their own situations are digging deep to help in every way imaginable. It expresses the strength Australia possesses in its people. It is a credit to all. Even though I wasn’t directly affected, through observation I have been profoundly affected!

To the Aussie Spirit – Good On Ya’!

Shannon Panzo


PS: “If life was always a positive experience, we would not have anything to compare to. Therefore, we would not learn to appreciate it.”

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