Hi Folks,

As many of you already know, we are planning a camp clean up and repair from Thursday, April 10th to Saturday, April 12th.  This winter has hit our primitive camp, (The Central Fire), very hard and we are in desperate need of your help.  The oncoming season is going to be intense and very active for many people are waking up to the fact that the world and the Earth are in a state of collapse and they want to be prepared.  As I’ve said so often, armed gangs, money, property, and gold will not help us when everything collapses around us.  The wealthiest person in the world can not buy a glass of water in the desert.  The only thing of value will be knowledge and not just survival knowledge and skill but even more so the Spiritual Wisdom.  That quest for knowledge and wisdom will intensify and we have to have camp prepared.  The only way that will happen is if you lend us your support.

During the clean up and repair process I am going to take a break from the work, gather as many of you as I can find in camp, and try some experimental teaching.  I’ve got several areas of teaching and skill, both on a physical and a spiritual level that I’ve wanted to try out for years.  I really want to see if people can understand the concepts and teaching that I would not have the time to teach in the main stream Tracker Classes.  It’s also a way that I can give back for all of your help at camp.  I really hope to see you there.  

In Medicine, Tom

Today we have a guest blog by Dave Ott:

Fugitive Tracking case – Feb. 22, 2014: general overview

As most of you have heard, the Tracker School was called in recently to track a potentially armed murder suspect fugitive in Waretown NJ on February 22, 2014. The suspect was a passenger in a car pulled over by a Waretown P.D. officer for some traffic violation. During questioning outside the vehicle he threw his ID down on the ground and ran into the woods behind (west of) the Sea Pines Motel on route 9. This occured around 11:30 a.m. Suspect still had his wallet and a mobile phone. A foot chase ensued, involving several officers, a K-9 unit and a helicopter. The area into which the fugitive fled was typical for the Atlantic coast pine barrens – sandy soil, oak and pine trees, areas of thick scrubby understory, more open areas of seasonally wet/dry marshy areas with small shrubby plantlife, sand trails used by off-road vehicles, and numerous game trails throughout. This initial search was not successful, and calls were made to the Tracker School at about 2:30 pm. Jorge Brana (senior instructor at the Tracker School) immediately left his house and went to the Waretown PD headquarters, was briefed, and headed out to the scene with one of the officers. Jorge messaged Tom Brown jr with a situation report, and then called David Ott (Tracker student & Tracker School’s multi-media producer) and Cadence Shae (former Tracker School intern and onsite engineer for Tracker Audio) to assist since he knew we were nearby at the Tracker office.

When we arrived (around 4:00 pm), Jorge had already identified some very clear prints of the fugitive and was working on his trail, establishing baseline strides and characteristics and trying to get into the fugitive’s head. The area was heavy with interference from the initial searchers and K-9 unit. Two of us kept on the tracks and one went ahead speed tracking, looking for the furthest confirmed print. We continued in this manner as daylight began to fade, eventually using flashlights, and we reached a point where we couldn’t be sure where the tracks went off into the bush. Lots of sign cutting…

At about 5:40 pm Jorge left to pick up Tom at the trail-head, and arrived back at the last known track around 6:00 pm along with an additional Waretown PD officer. As soon as Tom looked at the last known track he yelled for us to assume wing positions and took off like a bloodhound on the trail. Tracking (with flashlights) continued off of the sand trail into the brush at high speed, with Tom occasionally pausing to point out the fugitive’s actions, or comment on the general environment of the area, or calling for the wings to cut for sign when the next track wasn’t apparent. This intense tracking eventually led us back towards some businesses along route 9, where we met the K-9 unit and additional officers. The tracks were getting pretty hard to see, though it looked like the fugitive was heading back into the woods… and he had about 1-1/2 hours jump on us. Tom thought he was headed towards a local landowner’s property along route 532 and suggested that the Waretown PD send a car or two there to check it out (I don’t know if this was done). The helicopter support had not shown up yet, and it was decided to take a break and see if the patrol cars (and helicopter, when it arrived) flushed anything out or noticed anything unusual. It was about 7:30 pm or later at this point.

Jorge, Cadence and I returned to the Tracker office to eat, do tick checks (yes, they were out!) and debrief. At about 9:00 pm Jorge received another call from the Waretown PD dispatcher – that same local residence that Tom suspected the fugitive would head for had just contacted the police with a report of something strange about a person who had just asked to use their phone. The suspect had evidently called a cab company…  At this point the Waretown, Barnegat and Lacy PDs were all involved with the search. We headed back out towards the residence on route 532, made initial contact with a Barnegat officer who wondered where our dogs were (“You’re trackers? Where’s your dogs?”), and got ready to track again. Then the bad news came. We hadn’t even all gotten out of the vehicle when the Waretown PD informed us that the fugitive had already been picked up by the cab and dropped off at a nearby bus station. So we headed back and called it a night.

So that’s the bones of the story. What I really wanted to write about was everything else… our personal thoughts on the whole thing, why this experience would yield a lifetime of lessons to Jorge, Cadence and me, and what we’d like to share with the Tracker community in general.

General observations:

“In the learning environment of a class we are removed from the actual application of the skills. This tracking case made the skills come alive and the responsibility we have to use them. We have to put ourselves out there. Be vulnerable. Make it really count. It’s about helping, about making a difference. Learn from our shortcomings and failures. We need to get beyond learning in a class and seek to train on the job. Test ourselves. It’s not how this will matter some day, it matters now.” – Cadence

A basic theme to a lot of our post-case discussions centered around being more prepared. And you won’t know how well prepared you are unless you can test in a real world scenario or close to it. This includes not only things like your tracking pack and general equipment, but your skill set. Take stock not only of what you need to work on, but also what you already know. Valid confidence in your existing abilities is just as important as the desire to learn more.

Another item was communications ability. Know your area, know who you can call upon for help, and let others know how you can help.Tracking by yourself is really hard. Having a few more people really sped things up. Having Tom around puts things in hyper-speed, but that’s not always an option 🙂

On tracking with Tom:

“I saw everything that I had learned at the Tracker School put into practice in about 2 seconds.” – Jorge

It was an experience that is hard to capture in words, witnessing one of the few true master trackers in action. His immediate command of the situation and his speed and focus were even more remarkable for his overall awareness of the landscape and the time he took to continue our own education in tracking. At times it seemed as if he wasn’t so much letting the last track lead him to the next – he was just putting himself where the next track was. And on the few occasions where it wasn’t there, he could just call on his wings (we were more or less the classic diamond formation) and be off again in seconds. You graduates of the Philosophy classes will have some thoughts on this, I’m sure…

Being in the field:

Speed is vital but useless without a solid understanding of the objective (or fugitive, in this case). The time you spend on that understanding is directly related to your skill set, and to a lesser degree your equipment (bear in mind the more you know, the less you need to carry). Your skill set is determined by your accumulation of dirt time. So get more dirt time!

Being out there, all three of us dealt with personal frustrations, feelings of inadequacy, fatigued eyes, and keeping the adrenaline rush under control. To counteract all that we fell back to the basics – the stuff you learn at the Standard, Advanced Standard, Advanced Tracking, Philosophy 1 and Scout. We knew what to do, and we each assumed positions to take advantage of our strengths and minimize our weaknesses. There was no ego involved, and that was a beautiful thing.

Post-event thoughts:

As can be expected, many of our conversations were about being more prepared. Between the three of us we have maybe 25 to 30 years experience with the Tracker School and a lot of dirt time, but not one of us felt like we had done enough or been sufficiently equipped. Always more to work on. And though it centered on tracking, it’s just as much about being an effective human being.

There’s not one primitive skill I can think of that doesn’t have corollary benefits to us in our everyday lives. Let the ego slip away for a moment and ask yourself “what strengths and values do I have to offer those around me?”

As Tracker students, we all know that when something was truly important to Stalking Wolf and his people, it was often labeled “sacred”. Our first example of that is in the “Sacred Question” – asking WHY? Or in other words, “What does this mean?” And as Tom has said, the biggest failure is the failure to ask it. Never stop asking why – never be satisfied that you have exhausted the learning potential of anything. Jorge and Cadence went back Sunday night and then Monday as well to get pictures and more thoroughly examine the tracks. The time they spent there was invaluable in understanding not only the fugitive’s trail, but the impact of the prior searcher’s interference tracks as well as our own assumptions and decisions in the heat of the chase. We gained some new insight into getting good track pictures at night (Jorge’s Stanley BarFlex LED light worked really well) and re-discovered the value of popsicle stick track marking (Jorge picked up some bundles of surveyor’s flags which were great for a broader look at the scene). One of my favorite pics is where the dog, confused by the nearby water amongst other obstacles, loses the direction of the scent and starts following the fugitive’s tracks backwards.

So we go back, revisit the scene, refine our understanding, try out some new perspectives and different tools and technologies, and prepare to be even more effective in the future. Most areas of our lives could benefit from the same procedure.

In closing, I don’t think I’ve really written anything here that you haven’t heard before… but if you’re like me, it sure helps to get a reminder once in a while. For Jorge, Cadence and me, tracking a dangerous fugitive with Tom has been a very big reminder.

Dirt time. Play the game. Be prepared. At every moment its up to you to live an honorable and effective life. At any moment it may be up to you to protect one.

Hi Folks,

It’s hard to believe, given the cold winter we’ve had, that people would be thinking about global warming.  But the issue of global warming should be in the forefront of everyones’ thinking and concern, not only because of the obvious issues but also the hidden problems and changes that are taking place.  With global warming we are not only seeing a spread of malaria but also the west nile disease.  These diseases and many more are reaching farther and farther north than ever before.  It is essential that you take the necessary precautions and measures needed to insulate yourself from these diseases and the vectors that carry them.  Ticks are always a major concern but now added to that concern more than ever before is the mosquitoes and all the diseases they carry.  Keep yourself and your family safe.  Use natural insect repellants and avoid areas that are infested with ticks and mosquitoes.

In Medicine,

Tom

Hi Folks,

I just wanted to pass along a quick note to reinforce something I told you during your Standard Class.  I said that a Tracker becomes the animal or person he or she is tracking.  Last night Jorge, Dave Ott, and I were called out by the local police to track a fugitive that had escaped from a vehicle they had just pulled over.  The fugitive ran from the scene, entering the woods behind the place where Tracker Students park their cars by the strip mall.  I got to the PLS (point last seen) at dusk and picked up the trail where Jorge had left off.  At this point the fugitive hit heavy brush in a blind panic and began traveling a straight line.  His trail hit brush, existing animal runs, and hiking trails, but always in a straight line.

The fugitive was from the city and had little experience in the bush.  I could tell from his movement that he blundered and was on the edge of panic not only from the police search but also and more so because of the woods.  The police officers, who I had worked with many times before, were baffled by how this fugitive could run a straight line and not get lost.  It was then that I explained to them that he is going to seek out the known and familiar.  At that time of day and night there was a radio tower that could be clearly seen in the distance and as night fell one could clearly see the lights of buildings near the radio tower.  All we had to do is to enter the mind of the fugitive any time we lost the night trail and look toward the tower and within moments we would pick up the trail again.  By getting into the mind of the fugitive we were able to think and react as he did and subsequently cover several miles of trail as fast as we could walk.  

Whenever tacking, get into the mind of the animal or person you are tracking.  A Tracker becomes the animal he is tracking goes a long way to keep you on the trail.  What happened?  He eventually hit a roadway, called a taxi and got a ride to the Toms River Bus.  I can’t track busses so he is long gone, probably to Atlantic City were he can blend with the environment.  Of further note, even though we have had a cold winter and yesterdays’ temperatures were in the mid 50’s all of us came out of the bush loaded with ticks.  Go figure.   

All Good Medicine, Tom

Hi Folks,

I just wanted to send you out a quick note and a request.  Please intensify your research into the issues of water because recent developments have become very disturbing.  In certain counties and even states are beginning to outlaw the private collection of rain water.  Of particular interest are the regulations in Washington State, Colorado, California, and Utah.  Remember that Grandfather said that water will not only become scarce and polluted but it will also become a source of trade and a weapon of war.  Please, now more than ever, dig deeper into what is going on in our world and how it effects you and our Earth Mother. Let me know what you find for the new developments in water have grown deeper and more sinister than I ever imagined.  

In Medicine, Tom

Hi Folks,

I just finished up the on line class dealing with the elements needed for Safe Villages and Agriculture in the future.  I was certain to mention the importance of the “Three Sisters”, meaning Corn, Squash, and Beans, and how these were central to many cultures in their agricultural practices.  I suggested strongly during the class that students try to get their hands on the original strains of these food plants, for in the future hybrid plants will not withstand the battering that will come from the collapse of life as we know it and the evolution of farming to fit adverse conditions that we all will face.  

A better choice is to look to cultivating the vast assortment of wild edible and medicinal plants that are found in the area you have chosen as your safe haven.  After all, these wild plants grow in a variety of conditions and are very resistant to diseases and extremes in environment.  Best of all, most people would not even notice these plants, for the general public only knows them as weeds.  With that in mind I ask you all to begin to research the wild edible plants in your area.  This year you should begin to collect the seeds and replant them and then the following year harvest the seeds, roots, and tubers and store them for future use.  

On a personal note two of my favorites are the amaranth and the fox tailed grasses.  These plants are highly nutritious and can take a beating.  I am going to be sending out a list of these plants to the graduates of my on line Villages classes and will eventually make this list available to all Tracker Graduates.  

Walk Strong my brothers and sisters,

Tougher times lay ahead.

Tom

Hi Folks,

Its times like these that we have to pay very close attention to the subtle nuances of the Earth and the World.  Right now its all too quiet, hushed, as if something is waiting to happen, very much like the calm before the storm.  I know that you can all feel it, for it is on a deep visceral level, leaving you a bit nervous, unsettled, and apprehensive.  So too do you find that your level of sensory awareness has increased, where your senses are heightened and alert, ready for the hush and the quiet to end and for the avalanche of darkness to begin again.  Yes, pay attention to the quietness for it can be as powerful as any other level of alertness that comes to us either consciously or unconsciously.  For me it is the unconscious attention to the quietude that speaks the loudest and holds the greatest power.  Go with that feeling, nurture it, and bring it into your life embracing its full power and wisdom.  

So many of you have contacted me over the past week and talked about this lull and quiet that seems to surround us now and now I warn you not to fall into a trap, a coffin where you assume the quiet is a good thing.  Instead, take the quiet as a warning and prepare for the quiet to end and its end will be very soon.  All too often when we enter a state of quietude we let down our guard, assuming that things have diminished or backed down but this is rarely the case.  It is best to take this state of quiet and go deep within ourselves, observing the nuances, the small shifts in feeling and emotion, and the deeper currents of thought and spirit that interact with our deepest existence.  So hear me clearly, the silence, the quiet, the lull is a warning that should be heeded and prepared for.  Go deep within find the cause and effect, the action and reaction, and the origins of quiet.  I know that some of you will not understand all of this but I know that most of you will for it comes form the place of the Coyote in nearly the same context and words that Grandfather used to teach me.  Embrace the quiet for it is powerful and complex, to understand its power you will then understand the now and the future.

Walk in Silence, Walk Strong, 

Tom

In a recent class I defined the differences between observation and awareness the way that Grandfather defined them and by so doing I was able to take the class to levels of understanding that I could not have otherwise reached.  Basically and simply, when you observe something you are at the foundation of that observation.  That means that you are part of the equation with all of your prejudices, words, definitions, history, and baggage good or bad.  Unfortunately this pollutes any and all possible pure observation and we must learn to accept that any observation is subject to prejudices.  After all if five people witness and event and you question each of them you will get five different stories.  So accept the fact that observation is prejudicial and impure.

On the other hand Awareness removes the self from the process and subsequently removes all prejudice, words, definitions, history, and other baggage that would normally cloud the purity of what is being observed.  This is easy to say, meaning whenever possible remove self from what you are being aware of, but it is not easy to do.  It takes a conscious effort to set aside all your learned prejudices and even the way you look at things to be able to reach this level of purity.  The best way I know of ant the one that Grandfather taught the most was just to rid the self of all words, definitions, thoughts, emotions, and quiet the waters of the mind and heart.  if all you can do is set aside the words of definition then you have made a tremendous breakthrough and will begin to become more aware at a pure level, thus a deeper level.  

I find that there is a place between that of observation and awareness, a place that I simply call the “watching”.  Here in the “watching” or the “watch” I get the best of both worlds.  I first view the situation or thing that I am looking at through myself and the act of observing defined as I just defined it with all of its prejudices.  I then let go of observing and enter the world of awareness, free of all thought, words, and emotions taking in the entirety of the elements being experienced.  I then bring both the observations and awareness together and at that point a balance seems to be struck.  That balance comes more by accident than by design and it just happens, for you’ll notice a deep and profound change in your level of attention.  It is this place that I call the place of “watching”, and a place that I try to enter as often as possible because it gives me a clear view of both worlds at the same time.  There I can see, experience, the best of my observations and the best of my awareness fused together and reaching a higher level of enlightenment and knowing.  

The reason that I am sending you this is because within the next 10 days to two weeks events will unfold that you need to be aware of and “watch” carefully, especially finding the connection between your life and the unfolding events.  More later.

In Medicine

Tom

Hi Folks,

Just thought you should know so that you can do your own research into this disturbing report.  From July 1st to November 3rd a total of 753 dolphins have washed up dead along the shores from New York to Florida.  During the same time frame in a normal year the number of dolphins averages around 74.  Keep in mind that these are the ones that we know about and have not been swept out to sea to decompose.  According to researchers the dolphins are dying from a type of measles that soon becomes a pneumonia loosely related to canine distemper.  The word disturbing is hardly enough to convey the feelings we have for this horrific carnage.  We are left asking ourselves Why???

For me the cause is obvious and is right in my face.  The chemical cesspool that Grandfather spoke of and warned of is hitting us hard.  The immune system of the dolphins has been weakened and the pathogens strengthened to a point where they can no longer fight the infection.  Ironic that these reports come out just a few weeks since I ran the Emerging Pathogens class and to the graduates of that class this report will have disturbing meaning.  The deaths of the dolphins are but part of the beginning and it will not be long before we see it cross so many lines and infect so many things.  The wasting disease is also on the rise and it will not be long, according to Grandfather, that we see it manifest in our crops and live stock, and not long afterwards ourselves.  

Nothing in Nature is an Island.  We are all connected through the-Spirit-that-moves-in-and-through-all-things.  What happens to the dolphins will eventually happen to humankind.  Research the news, dig deep, and keep in mind the chemical cesspool that we live in every day is taking its toll on all things.  Plan accordingly and pray hard.  

Walk Strong,

Tom