Falun Dafa: My Search for the Truth

About Me

My name is Barbara Phillips. I was born on February 21, 1963. I am divorced, with a twenty year old daughter. I have had jobs waitressing, cleaning, doing body work on Metro buses, and I joined the Army Reserves while I was in high school. I have a BSEET from DeVRY, Kansas City. Until about four years ago, I had been disabled and unable to work for ten years, due to the diseases and complications of Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis, and Vasculitis. Up until March of last year, I worked at KU Medical Center as a unit clerk on the Burn Unit. After deciding against going into the nursing field, I moved to the East Coast, and worked in DC for three months as a Nanny, and then started work in Chester, NJ as a Housekeeper/Nanny in September. After doing that for about six months, I realized that I couldn't continue--it was totally unfulfilling, isolating, and there were no benefits! I am now looking for work in customer service, as I really like helping people and interacting with them as much as possible.

My life

All my life, I have felt that I was searching for something. As a child, I had thoughts, beliefs, and ideas that seemed to come from somewhere outside of my environment. At different points during my childhood I was exposed to Christianity, and twice during my teen years I actually turned to Christianity to help my search. Although I did feel an affinity for the teachings of Jesus, I still felt a lack of something. All of the things that Jesus taught-- being honest, being compassionate, turning the other cheek--they all made complete sense to me. And, yet, there was something missing from that practice. It felt incomplete to me. It wasn't necessarily that the teachings of Jesus were incomplete, it was more that I sensed that there was more to learn than what was being taught in the church environment. I felt that there was a lack of understanding of what Jesus taught. The understanding itself was incomplete. (I should also say that it is my firm belief that much has been lost, distorted, and/or mistranslated during the 2000 years since Jesus left his teachings for people to follow.)

When I was twelve, I read the book, "Jonathon Livingston Seagull." (A book about reincarnation.) I felt that I had found a clue about what was missing from traditional Christianity. I had always felt that in order for justice to actually take place in life, people could not just be here for one lifetime. If all you have is one lifetime, what if you die as a child or before you have a chance to learn anything? Why would bad things happen to seemingly good people and good things happen to seemingly bad people? Why are some people born with disfigurements or disabilities? Also, if one has to believe in Jesus to be saved, what happens to those people who never even hear about Jesus? What about other religions? Can Christianity be the only true religion? It was, is, and always will be, impossible for me to believe that a loving, benevolent god would condemn people based on ignorance alone.

As I got older, I gave up my search--at least in an external way. I continued to search inside of myself, but there was no existing ideology that I knew of that fit my belief system, so I abandoned traditional religions. I continued to try to be a good person and to try to help people, but I also eventually abandoned my hope that I would ever find the truth.

In February of 2000, I asked for an answer to my search. I was given a path--the path I am currently on--and there is no doubt in my mind that this is the path I should take. It is as if all my life I was picking up pieces to a puzzle, never knowing what the picture was, and now I finally have enough of the pieces that I am beginning to see.

I never expected it, and I cannot explain how much my life has changed because of it, but I know that I will never be the same again. I always wondered what made certain people take up causes that they were willing to do anything for, give up anything for--even give up their lives for. I always felt like I would like that to happen to me--and now it has.

If you are interested, the path I have chosen is called Falun Dafa. Falun means "Law Wheel" and Dafa means "Great Way." Falun Dafa, also known as Falun Gong, is an advanced traditional Chinese Qigong practice designed to improve the mind and body through exercise and meditation. The practice not only has far-reaching effects in stress-relief and overall mental and physical health, but ultimately has the higher goal of bringing people towards wisdom and enlightenment.

This cultivation practice has so far enabled me to quit smoking cigarettes after smoking for about twenty three years, and quit using alcohol and drugs. After being diagnosed with several incurable diseases, I am no longer taking any medication, and my illnesses are completely gone. It has also changed my attitude about life, helping me to become a better person in all aspects of my life.

The goal of Falun Dafa is the same as for religions--to learn to be better and better as a person, and to ascend. Falun Dafa teaches that to reach those goals, one must gradually assimilate to the nature of the universe: Zhen-Shan-Ren or to be True, Good, and Endure. These characteristics are common to orthodox religions.

If you would like to know more about Falun Dafa, you can go to the links listed below, or e-mail me here or at BarbLPhillips@aol.com. I would be happy to answer any questions that I am capable of answering.

I should also say that Falun Dafa is not a religion--there are no formalities, no hierarchies, no rituals, no funding. All of the materials are free--donations are not accepted. The books can be downloaded for free from the internet, borrowed from your local libraries, or bought at local bookstores. There are study group sessions regularly, and exercise demonstrations are also available. Everyone is welcome.

You may, of course, have heard about the persecution of Falun Dafa in China--a brutal, systematic attempt to eradicate this practice and its adherents through the means of torture, imprisonment, forced labor, 're-education', and harrassment of various kinds. The government has sought to defame Falun Dafa through any and all means. Thousands have been tortured to death--including the elderly, women, and even children--just for trying to be good people.

Our congress, our representatives, and our own President, have joined with various human rights organizations and governments worldwide to condemn this persecution as unlawful--by China's own constitution--and by the laws of the world.

Numerous lawsuits, designed to bring to justice those involved in the persecution, have been filed--worldwide--and have been successful in illuminating this persecution for the world to see clearly. A landmark suit against Jiang Zemin, the former President of China--the man who started the persecution himself--is currently in the courts in Chicago.

I was fortunate to have taught the exercises of Falun Dafa for about two years at KUMed Center.

If you wish to contact me, you can email me at: BarbLPhillips@aol.com

My Interests

My favorite things in life are children, animals, nature, music, and stories. I like to watch movies, read, do cross-stitch, make candles and soap, and help people see things in a more positive way.

Throughout my life, I have watched a lot of movies, read a lot of books, and listened to a lot of music. There is good and bad in everything in this world, but I prefer things that are uplifting overall. Very few books, movies, or music collections are completely good and uplifting, so I have attempted to pick the ones with the least amount of gratuitous violence, sex, and drug use, etc. Like many other people, however, I have always been interested in the human condition, so I have not avoided completely the more negative aspects of this world.


Some of my favorite books and/or authors:

Johnny Got His Gun, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, The Black Hole of Calcutta, Night, Stephen King's books, The Talisman(Stephen King and Peter Straub), Shadowland(Peter Straub), most of Ray Bradbury's books, Gary Larson's books, Terry Brooks' books, Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time" series, Tad Williams' "Otherland" series, The Invisible Man(Ralph Ellison), Johnathon Livingston Seagull, Marco Polo, Island of the Blue Dolphins, The Books of Rachel, The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings, Sidney Sheldon's If Tomorrow Comes, The Mirror, all of the popular fairy tales--Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Snow White, The Princess and the Pea, The Snow Queen, etc.--Winnie the Pooh stories, Dr. Suess, The Berenstain Bears, Calvin and Hobbes, Peanuts.

My favorite book is Zhuan Falun, by Li Hongzhi.


Some of my favorite movies:

Of Mice and Men, "Indiana Jones" series, "Road Warrior" series, Othello(with Laurence Fishburne), Hamlet(with Mel Gibson), The Secret of Roan Inish, The Secret Garden, The Ten Commandments, The Wizard of Oz, To Kill a Mockingbird, "Star Wars" series, Fargo, Dancing at Lughnasa, Braveheart, Seven Years in Tibet, Jesus Christ Superstar, The Yearling, Scrooge(musical with Albert Finney), Regarding Henry, The Man Without a Face, The Man Who Would Be King, Menace II Society, Life is Beautiful, It's A Wonderful Life, Les Miserable(spelling?), A Man Called Horse, The Big Red One, Roots, Mission to Mars, The Spitfire Grill, In the Name of the Father, Schindler's List, ET, Saving Private Ryan, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Shall We Dance?, Mi Familia (My Family), Sophie's Choice, Toy Story(I&II), The Age of Innocence, Dangerous Liasons, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The Beast, Forever Young, The Magnificent Seven, The Shawshank Redemption, The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man in the Moon Marigolds, What's Eating Gilbert Grape, This Boy's Life, Shine, Ulee's Gold, The Reincarnation of Peter Proud, Sleuth, Dances With Wolves, Rapa Nui, Dragon:The Bruce Lee Story, Phenomenon, The Navigator, ET, Silent Running, Howard's End, The Remains of the Day, The Messenger, Chaplin, Houdini, The Pink Panther Movies, The Man in the Moon(Not the movie about Andy Kaufman--haven't seen it!), The Joy Luck Club, Where the Red Fern Grows, Old Yeller, To Sir With Love, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Majestic, The Last Samurai, Master and Commander, We Were Soldiers, K-19 The Widowmaker, The Twin Towers, The Return of the King,


Some of my favorite music:

(Mostly, I like certain songs--there are very few groups that I like all of their songs.)

Kansas, Rush, U2, Desree, The Wallflowers, Peter Gabriel(So), Tom Petty(Full Moon Fever), Hank Williams, Merle Haggard, Pearl Jam, The Cranberries, Filter, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Collective Soul, Creed, Rush, Supertramp, The Moody Blues, Foo Fighters, Elton John, Joe Walsh, Sonny James, Ray Stevens, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, Simon and Garfunkel, Live, God Smack, Kid Rock, Pink Floyd, Loretta Lynn, Whitney Houston, John Denver, Eddie Rabbit, Don Henley(The End of the Innocence), The Mamas and the Papas, Jim Croce, Neil Diamond, Barry Manilow, Mariah Carey, Hootie and the Blowfish, Bruce Springsteen, John Cougar Melloncamp, Three Dog Night, Jewel, Celene Dion, Tears for Fears, Verve Pipe, Floyd Cramer,


If there is a type of music that is closest to being 'good' in every way, I would say it is classical music. It is the best to 'see' live in my opinion, because everyone is quiet and you can immerse yourself in it really well. I like most of it, particularly Mozart, Beethoven, Vivaldi, Bach, Strauss(particularly Also Sprach Zarathustra--this is the music from the film: 2001 A Space Odyssey--and it also has a very interesting story behind it), Tchaikovsky,


I also like alternative music alot--I prefer to call it holistic(haha!)



Some TV shows that I have liked:

Star Trek (original series), Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, Hogan's Heroes, MASH; The Wild, Wild West; The Twilight Zone, The Partridge Family, The Brady Bunch, The Pink Panther(cartoon), Taxi, My Three Sons, Leave it to Beaver, Family Affair, The Big Valley, The Lone Ranger, Kungfu, Batman, Ponderosa, Mission Impossible, The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau, Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom, NYPD Blue, The Practice,

(I don't watch TV these days: lack of time, desire, and quality programming!)


Some people I have admired:

Ghandi, Martin Luther King, Jr., Joseph Mandella, Rosa Parks, Chief Joseph(of Nez Perce Native Americans), Oprah Winfrey, Galileo, Marco Polo, Oscar Schindler, Beethoven,


(I have left some of this incomplete as I will be adding on to it periodically.)

[If you wish to contact me, please do so at the following email: barbaraphillips@myself.com or barbara.phillips@epochtimes.com]

My Favorite Links

Falun Dafa
News of Falun Dafa
Friends of Falun Gong