Aerial advertising is typically employed by businessmen and marketers to promote their products. Surprisingly, one woman in Perth, Western Australia, however, rented an airplane to convey the uplifting principles of “Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance” following a series of magical dreams. Her aim? She simply wanted to spread goodness.
It was a beautiful Sunday morning on Dec. 2, 2018, when 3-year-old Orlando caught sight of the fascinating moment at Cottesloe Beach in Perth.
He spotted an airplane with a long tail trailing behind, flying in the beautiful blue sky.
“Airplane!” Orlando exclaimed to his parents excitedly, pointing upwards.
Orlando’s parents, Leigh Travers and Sade Travers, looked up and saw the plane towing a 30-meter-long banner that read, “BE TRUE. BE KIND. ENDURE-FALUN GONG.”
“Wow! That’s a wonderful message,” Leigh Travers said. “Someone brought this positive message up to the sky for everyone to look at.”
Leigh Travers likes the words on the banner very much because “this is not selling something, but trying to improve people’s spiritual realm.”
It turned out Karen Dunscombe was the mastermind behind the aerial banner.
In 2015, Dunscombe had a series of magical dreams—she was flying around a bunch of people in the sky.
Almost two months later, Dunscombe dreamed of another extraordinary scene.
“In the dream, I saw a lot of people below. So I thought maybe I should let them know about Falun Dafa,” Dunscombe said. “So, while I was flying, I shouted, ‘Falun Dafa is good! Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance is good!’ The people below looked up and waved to me.”
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is an ancient mind-body cultivation practice based upon the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance. It originated from China and is currently practiced by people in over 100 countries.
In fact, Dunscombe kept dreaming of this strange scene several times.
She didn’t think much about the dreams until a month prior, when she encountered something similar in real life.
One particular day while she was practicing Falun Gong’s slow-moving exercises and tranquil meditation in the park, a plane flew past dragging an advertising banner.
In the blink of an eye, she experienced her light-bulb moment—she was to turn her dream into a reality.
She rushed home to search for “aerial advertising” online and found out one has to pay $900 for a banner, and $3,000 for an hour of flying.
“I am very excited, maybe this is what the dreams tell me to do,” Dunscombe said. “I don’t care how much it costs.”
Despite the high cost, her husband and mother were very supportive of this initiative because they knew how greatly the practice of Falun Gong has benefited Dunscombe.
“If you really want to do this, just do it. Don’t worry about how much,” her husband told her.
And her mom said: “What a wonderful idea. I really want to see it.”
So, ascertaining “this is what I have to do,” Dunscombe contacted Brian Collingridge for the aerial advertising service. After bargaining, she rented an airplane to tow a banner that read “BE TRUE. BE KIND. ENDURE-FALUN GONG” for two hours over the sky of Cottesloe Beach at $1,150.
Collingridge was initially baffled by what Dunscombe planned to do. However, upon learning about her pure intention and the wonderful message she was trying to disseminate, Collingridge wanted to lend her a hand.
Hence, he discussed with his wife and decided to extend the flight time to three hours, with the price remaining the same.
Weeks later on Dec. 2, 2018, at 9 a.m., Dunscombe’s dream became a reality as the plane departed from Jandakot Airport and headed north along the coastline at Rockingham.
While passing through Cottesloe Beach, Collingridge circled the plane at a low altitude for three times so that more people could see the inspiring message on the banner.
“I just want to get the positive message out to the people of Perth,” said Dunscombe. “I just wanted, even for that one day, for the people of Perth to read that sign and just feel good in their heart and have a good day.”
“I just want to give back to Falun Gong,” she added. “It is Falun Gong that makes me a better person. I want to bring this positive feeling to more people.”
Thanks to Dunscombe’s good intention, Leigh Travers and his family had an awesome day.
“This is an excellent experience for our family,” said Leigh Travers.
Without a doubt, the uplifting words—“BE TRUE. BE KIND. ENDURE-FALUN GONG”—had brightened up the day for the many other beach-goers on that beautiful Sunday morning.
