Where were you on September 11th, 2001?

When I realized that two planes had actually deliberately crashed into the Twin Towers I literally couldn’t believe it.

New York is my city, even though it’s been many years since I lived there.  

I am so proud of how New York responded to this disaster.  And I’m particularly proud of the Scientology Volunteer Ministers, who responded so beautifully to the call. As David Miscavige described it in his speech This is Scientology, Scientology Volunteer Ministers:

 "…become internationally known and recognized for what has been described as spiritual first aid, and to that end they are ready and organized to respond to any disaster — ‘man-made’ or by force of nature.

"Most notable, of course, were our Volunteer Ministers at Ground Zero, in the immediate aftermath of 9/11.

"Everything — from logistical work on the bucket lines, to caring for the rescue workers so deeply affected in the aftermath, our Volunteer Ministers were there for the duration. As for the help they provided, they were the only civilian group invited to participate in the Police Service, in memory of rescue efforts on the one-year anniversary of September 11th."

CNN has a very beautiful 9/11 memorial

Regarding my last posting, what David Miscavige refers to in his speech is the technology contained in the Scientology Handbook.  This forms the basis of all the training ScientologyVolunteer Ministers do,where in a Scientology church of mission or at the bright yellow tents of the Continental Scientology Volunteer Ministers Cavalcades, or a Scientology Goodwill Tour.

The Scientology Volunteer Ministers web site has a great new section - a speech by Mr. David Miscavige from 2004 where he describes and acknowledges the work of the Scientology Volunteer Ministers who are active in disaster relief and outreach programs for their communities.

 David Miscavige also spoke of the Scientology Volunteer Ministers at convention aboard the Freewinds this past summer.  It was quite a stirring speech because VMs arrive in times of disaster and the help they give to the victims is incalculable. 

I just read through some of my recent posts and realized how wildly diverse my taste tends to run in art, music and literature.

My husband always jokes about my music collection – from the Eagles to Beethoven and from the Dixie Chicks to Chick Corea, depending on my mood.

My books tend to be that way too – but my favorites these days are Harry Potter (I finally finished number 6 last night.  What an ending!) and anything by Isabelle Allende or Ken Follet. 

Then of course there are my watercolor books, my French books, one book on music theory, (which I never ended up learning), and of course a healthy selection of Scientology books, which take up a lot of shelf space (and reading time) – with The Scientology Handbook, Scientology Theology and Practice of a Contemporary Religion and What is Scientology?  prominent among them.

I’ve almost finished Harry Potter 6 (Half-Blood Prince), enough so I’ve guessed the ending (and I’ll see if I was rights pretty soon.

What I love so much about JK Rowling, in addition to the wonderful friends I have met through the pages of her book, and the fact that it’s just plain well written, is that the books acknowledge the spiritual as superior to the material, and the heros are those who have the qualities of justice, fairness, kindness, love, and they use their creativity, intelligence to accomplish an important purpose that helps everyone, not just themselves.

I’ve heard Rowling q has created a whole generation of readers just because they want to read her book.  If she also creates a generation who are ethical she will have accomplished an enormous benefit to mankind.

What drew me to Scientology when I became a member was this same kind of insouciance, brilliance and compassion combined with an healthy component of personal integrity.

Three of my favorite Scientology sites complement what I have gotten from this book:

The Scientology Handbook 

Scientology Effective Solutions web site

Scientology Theology 

What is Scientology