"One of the most important and powerful effects that I created was on my very first night in Nagapattinam here in India.
We were thrown into the chaotic activity of a place called St. Joseph’s Hostel. It was a place for housing many of the surviving from the Tsunami. Many who had lost their houses, children, mothers or fathers. “As we drove in, the children began screaming in exhilaration that we were there to play. The noise was truly overwhelming and cured me of any nervousness I had been feeling previously. Through the chaos and hilarity of the uncontrollable masses who longed to shake hands or be picked up and hugged, we set out a circle of chairs ready to deliver Assists. I worked hard to get my face straight and focus on the job in hand.
“I began giving Touch Assists, firstly to an elderly gentleman whose body was in a poor shape and then to a lady with a bad ankle. After her assist she smiled, looked me in the eyes and asked me if I would give her daughter a touch assist. On the surface the daughter seemed fine but her mother informed me that she had not slept since the tsunami and kept hearing the waves, creating a deep fear of the sea.
“Now I should introduce one of the true stars that we met in India. A girl of 23 called Lydia who has been working tirelessly as our translator on the project since that day. Taking on the hat of making sure that our communication to the people with no alterations, and with the intention that we desired, she demonstrated a natural presence and strength of intention.
“So I sat the girl down and prepared, unaware of the miracle that was in store for the 11 year old girl, and myself. Lydia explained to the girl what a touch assist was and that she should acknowledge my command of ”feel my finger.”
“The assist began with commands and acknowledgements per the textbook. Five minutes into the assist she lost consciousness and slumped into her chair! I almost panicked. Stuart Guy – our in charge at the time – came over and supported her head and me as I continued. She continued to give me a “yes” even though she was asleep.
“Forty-five minutes passed before she began to come around and take some control of her body back. In the following minutes she straightened up in her chair and grew more conscious. Her eyes opened very slightly and tears streamed down her cheeks. I continued for a further fifteen minutes as she slowly moved towards present time.
“Suddenly her eyes flickered and she looked me dead in the eyes. She hit present time. Through Lydia I asked how she was doing. Her response was that she no longer felt any fear of the sea. Physically she felt stronger and had lost the pain in her back.
“Lydia collapsed in amazement as she had been through most of it with me. Being new to benefits of the assists she was blown out by the result that had just occurred. She shot me a look and beamed me a huge smile thanking me for helping the girl and for proving that these assists really work.
“For me it felt like Lydia had collapsed on my behalf as it was exactly what I wanted to do but I felt the need to make sure that the girl had fully recovered. She wandered off into the crowd that had gathered around us during the assist and I never saw her again.
“The moment was over in flash and although I continued to deliver assists for a further four weeks this is the one that will stick in my memory for decades to come. A truly beautiful moment in my life.”
Robbie Scandrett,
Stage-and television actor, London
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