Finding Freedom in Illness: A Guide to Cultivating Deep Well-Being through Mindfulness and Self-Compassion

by Peter Fernando

Buddhist wisdom for finding freedom and insight through spiritual practice in the midst of illness and pain.

"Let your illness be your spiritual teacher!" Make a statement like that to someone who's struggled for years with, say, rheumatoid arthritis, and be prepared for an eyeroll (at best). To Peter Fernando's credit, he makes that statement, and no such impulse arises. We believe him because he's been there himself and because he backs up the statements with his own real experiences and with real wisdom from the Buddhist teachings. Peter starts by defusing the pernicious belief that anyone is somehow responsible for their You're not "wrong" for being sick. Then, having gotten past self-blame, one can begin to learn self-kindness. From there, one moves to mindfulness practices and cultivating body awareness--even if body awareness is distasteful when the body isn't behaving the way you like. Further topics include getting intimate with dark emotions (fear, despair, the scary future, frustration, grief, etc.), learning equanimity (rejoicing in the good fortune of those who don't share your suffering), cultivating healthy relationships in the midst of everything, and practical advice for living with pain. Each chapter comes with one or more practices or guided meditations for putting the teachings into practice.

Genres: Psychology, Buddhism, Nonfiction, Health

240 pages, Paperback

First published March 15, 2016

About the author

Peter Fernando trained as a Buddhist monk in the Thai Forest tradition for seven years, and lived within intensive practice environments for most of his twenties.

Upon leaving the monastic life he was invited to teach by New Zealand mindfulness trainer and meditation teacher Stephen Archer.

He is the author of the book, Finding Freedom in Illness, published by Shambhala Publications in 2016; and the accompanying online course, released by Shambhala in 2018.

Reviews

[Paula Cappa · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is great wisdom in pain. So says author Peter Fernando. I found this book on health and healing to be a fascinating one. If you’ve read other books in this category of healing through the mind/body/spirit approach, the idea of pain and illness sourced from psychological or emotional issues is not news. This “awakening” to your own healing process is well established by authors like Louise L. Hay’s Heal Your Body and Candace Pert’s Everything You Need to Know to Feel Good, and Mona Lisa Schulz’ Awakening Intuition. Fernando suggests mindfulness and meditation techniques, mental body scans, and focusing on the rhythm of breathing. But most of all is contacting your own ‘presence.’ This, Fernando claims, is how to find the inner strength. He addresses fears, anxiety, uncertainty, reactivity, doubt, anger. But most of all is trust in yourself and your intuition. Once that process is established, you can move on to discovering the source of your illness and thereby release yourself into a healthy state. He suggests the idea of … what if pain has wisdom? What if pain has information for us? What if pain can lead us to whole body and whole life healing? Fernando builds the idea of meeting the pain with the energy of compassion and spaciousness. Lots of practical guided processes for you to explore your illness and pain. If it’s true that health and disease are ways in which our bodies speak to us to draw attention to what is right or wrong in our lives, then this is the book you’ll want to read.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book to be freeing. Having a long term chronic illness, I felt guilty not being able to do everything I wanted, comparing myself to others and my ideal (non-ill) self. Using Buddhist philosophy, the author (former monk) guides the reader to let go of guilt and false perceptions we have of ourselves, allowing the negative and "I can't stand it" type feelings to change into more loving ones, improving the way we perceive the world with our health challenges. I look forward to reading it a second time.

[Anita Tarlton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It helped me to steer myself toward self-compassion, after being diagnosed with a chronic illness. The writer draws upon his experiences as a Buddhist monk -- some positive and some negative -- to describe ways that he felt as though he was struggling. He used those experiences to help him learn to be kind to himself, and be mindful.

[Lore Lippincott · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's a lot of useful phrases and aids in this book. The spirit and the body, melding both in a way that is understandable, and, most importantly, hopeful. I found it helpful and comforting when I needed it, and now I have a copy to turn to when I'm feeling unsure of what's happening. Recommended for anyone going through a crisis... and isn't that pretty much all of us?

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting read, and I found chapters eight and nine particularly helpful. However, I do think it's better suited to readers who are far more knowledgeable about and advanced in Buddhism and mindfulness practice than I am.

[Mariana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book twice. I think it has valuable resources for Buddhists with disabilities as well as illnesses.

[Matthew Shlian · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone living with Chronic Illness (Crohn's disease) I found this book and much of Peters work to be most helpful. His insights shared to living with an illness like mine gives me a sense of his compassion and dedication to his life work. I am navigating a path through this disease and this book along with Peters meditations have helped me through some of the tougher times.

[Jeremy Cole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peter Fernando knows what he's talking about. Having thoroughly explored the shape and implications of chronic illness, he is well situated to provide a compassionate, understanding and authoritative voice on the matter. Peter clearly embodies the deep work needed to navigate realms of illness and find, even there, well-being.
The style of this book is frank, warm and gently encouraging, and reading it is like being led through difficult terrain by a loving and trusted friend. I highly recommend this book, not only to those who suffer from illness of any description, but to those interested in navigating life in a heartful and engaged way.