Book: Buddha in the Waiting Room by Paul Brenner

Embracing A Holistic Healing

The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only.  It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime.  HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.

healing curing type 1 diabetes naturally

Summary: In “Buddha in the Waiting Room” by Paul Brenner, health as a state of mind is explored deeply, emphasising holistic well-being beyond mere absence of illness. Brenner critiques Western medicine’s reductionist approach, advocating for integrative practices like diet, exercise, and meditation to foster true healing rooted in mental and emotional balance.

I have just finished reading “Buddha in the Waiting Room: Simple Truths about Health, Illness and Healing” by Paul Brenner.  What a wonderful little gem of a book!  Having read this book, I feel like I’ve just come back from a beautiful amble through the countryside with Paul Brenner, where we traded stories and wise insights on everything that true healing is and could be.

Health Is A State Of Mind

I was first attracted to this book  by a particular sentence on the back cover’s blurb: “Health is a state of mind.”  Those six words were enough to get me reading it.  What followed was a wandering meander through all the important points that create not only a lack of illness but also what Paul Brenner considers to be true health.  For him, true health is about your state of mind.  Living a life that fulfils you, whether in terms of diet, exercise or any other facet of your lived experience.  It is one that welcomes in joy but in equal measure to sorrow, anger or any other state of being.  It is a life where you ask and also fulfil the answers to the questions “What makes me sick and what makes me well?  What makes me die and  what make me live?” (Brenner, 2002, p. 64).

Re-Finding The Whole In Healing

Paul Brenner highlights the issues with the current Western medical paradigm.  He describes how this system has taken the body and broken it down into its constituent parts, where “knowing about a part has replaced feeling about the whole” and “the art of healing the person has been lost to the science of healing the pathology”.  He argues that, such a structure, has caused both the physician and the patient become less than.  I completely agree!  I felt myself metaphorically nodding my head as Brenner’s words unfurled on the pages in front of me.

This book then went on to discuss Candace Pert’s work (see my blog post here on this subject).  He highlighted how Pert’s work demonstrates that the mind and body can no longer be considered as separate systems.  He then argued that, if the mind and body are not separate, isn’t it possible for there to be not only psychosomatic illness but also psychosomatic health?  In other words, can’t the mind heal the body as much as the mind can make the body sick?  I truly believe it can and, in fact, the mind is crucial in the healing journey.  Healing must be a whole-body experience.

Chronic Illness in “Buddha in the Waiting Room”

Whilst chronic illness is a not a focus of “Buddha in the Waiting Room”, there is one brief paragraph focussed on it.  Brenner merely states that Western medicine has a long way to go when tackling these kinds of conditions (I concur!) and that the very nature of chronic illness requires that patient to “actively contribute to [their] recovery, through introspection, followed by lifestyle changes” (Brenner, 2002, p. 27).  It was nice to get this confirmation that I’m heading in the right direction!

Brenner’s Practical Tools

There are some more practical tools discussed in the book.  Diet, exercise and meditation are a central focus.  Journalling (and particularly “The Journal Workshop” by Ira Progoff) also receives praise.  Self-love is hinted at all the way through book, sometimes more emphatically than at other points.  But, for Brenner, the health-increasing benefits of each of these practices is really only brought about if health already exists.  In other words, the mind must be healthy first in order to receive the benefits of the practices.  He therefore argues for each of us to be mindful of how you are feeling and thinking before you eat, exercise or meditate.

As I come to the end of this mini book-review, I will leave you with my favourite quote from “Buddha in the Waiting Room”.  I hope that it leaves you with a similar deep resonance, an uncovering of the truth within, that I felt that first time my eyes met it.

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So what priorities is your Type 1 Diabetes requesting you re-prioritise?  What’s your first step in that direction?

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    Picture of Natalie Leader
    Natalie Leader

    Natalie is a blogger with Type 1 Diabetes. Natalie's special gifts are questioning the status quo and being a rebel. She is using these gifts to question medical 'knowledge' and find a true cure for Type 1 Diabetes.

    The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only.  It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime.  HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.

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