9/11 New York: The Heroes and Their Legacy

Excerpts of an article, reprinted with permission of the Scientology Newsroom.

“Where were you when it happened?” That question has probably been asked a million times today.

Not only did 9/11 form an indelible memory for anyone alive in 2001,  it also represented both the worst and the best of humanity.

Scientologists remember the hundreds of volunteers from across the U.S. and around the world who made their way to New York to help—despite the uncertainty of what might come next and the risk of exposure to hazardous pollution.

“The horror of 9/11 was the work of a scant few. And the entire world responded, showing the true nature of humanity—through their care, love and unconditional help,” said one of the volunteers coordinating the disaster response of the Scientology Volunteer Minister Corps at Ground Zero.

“Over 25,000 people were gotten out of the towers because of the work of the responders,” he said, “civilians who were fire wardens for their floor, strangers assisting others out to safety, the police, firefighters and EMS (Emergency Medical Services) responders, as well as those who made the ultimate sacrifice that day in service to others. As one fire chief put it to me, ‘we all want to go home, we love our families—but there are people in there. That’s what we do’.”

First responders are professionals who selflessly give of themselves in times of need. Scientology Volunteer Ministers play a unique role in the first-response community. They aid those in need, but they are also there to help the responders—helping those who help.

As an article in The New York Times described a week after 9/11, “At any time, well over 100 Volunteer Ministers from the Church of Scientology mill around the remains of the World Trade Center. On the day of the attack, they took in food to workers….When rescue workers stagger from the wreckage, the ministers, identified by their T-shirts, try to focus the workers’ minds and revive their bodies. In ‘locationals’ workers are told to look at the sky, or at water bottles on a table—anything to ground them in the present, the outside world, rather than the horror within the rubble.”

Assists, such as the one the Times described, are simple techniques developed by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard that can speed healing by addressing the mental and spiritual factors in illness and trauma.

In a vignette on the Today Show after the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the camera rolled while one of the Volunteer Ministers performed a Scientology assist on a little Haitian girl.

“Scientology teaches there’s a connection between the mind and touch,” the commentator stated. “It’s called an ‘assist.’ In 20 minutes we watched as Nicole (a Volunteer Minister from California) took a pained little girl from frowns to giggles.”

Caring for those who render care allows them to continue to render care. It can even extend to putting a roof tarp on the home of the county employee who is directing operations and finding out what else the family of that man or woman may need. Then they know their family is in good hands and is being cared for, so they can remain focused on serving the entire community.