This book is written to help you to survive the imminent disasters, hardship, and turmoil that may soon face our world. We want to show you how to survive on your own for a long period of time, wherever you are. We are not inventing anything new; we are sharing knowledge that already exists. Our goal is to simplify and adapt these to your own situation. In short, the human race is in danger and we want to do our part to sustain human life for the short term and the long term.

Regardless of whether a disaster happens in your lifetime or not, it is still good common sense to know how to survive on your own. What you learn about self-sufficiency will inspire others in your community to be more self-reliant. A mere hundred years ago most human beings knew the value of basic survival skills, and yet today most of us are dependent upon conveniences like prepackaged food for our dinner. Indeed, true craftsmen who build with their own hands are harder and harder to find in this day and age. Virtually everything we own is made on automated assembly lines, where skilled knowledge is under-appreciated. We rely so excessively upon technology; just imagine what would happen if we lost our ability to use computers... Most of us don’t really know what living through disaster actually means until one happens, which is too late if we are unprepared. Frequently disaster victims depend too much on others for assistance, only to become more desperate and angry if the help is insufficient or arrives too late. We can only blame ourselves for not being prepared. Being prepared is what this book is about. Read. Learn. Grow. Be a better person. Avoid setting yourself up to suffer. Don’t expect others to do for you what you should be doing for yourself.

Taner Ansari is a renowned teacher of Sufism, sustainable living and alternative healing. He speaks about these topics on radio and television interviews, at churches, synagogues, schools and universities, among them Humboldt State University, Harvard University and Boston University. As a healing practitioner, he sees patients in his office and also practices remote healing. As an ordained Sufi shaykh, he holds regular lectures and congregational zikr and gives weekly talks internationally through live classes on the Internet. His book on Sufism, The Sun Will Rise in the West: The Holy Trail (Ansari Publications, 2000), explains in clear, concise language the mysteries of the Sufi path. What About My Wood! 101 Sufi Stories (Ansari Publications, 2003) is a collection of Sufi teaching stories based on real life experiences of his students and of former shaykhs. His latest book, Grand Masters of Sufism (Ansari Publications, 2008) contains his translations of Abdul Qadir Geylani’s Secret of Secrets and Ahmed er Rifai’s Guidance to Mysticism. He is currently writing a sequel to his Alternative Healing: The Sufi Way (Ansari Publications, 2007). He and his family reside in upstate New York.