Spiritual self-improvement is a challenge in an inherently materialistic world steered by instant gratification. In his previous book, Disciple: The Spiritual Path to Infinite Happiness, Feroze Dada documented his transformative quest for inner peace, leading him to become a meditation practitioner. By merging the rigor of a memoir with the optimism of a self-help book, Disciple provided a roadmap for spiritual well-being and an antidote to the chaos surrounding us.
Two years later, the author has enriched his oeuvre with another genre-bending work. Titled Peace Between Breaths, Dada’s latest offering ventures beyond the confines of a self-help book and mirrors a fictional text seeded with spiritual insights. Experimental in its scope, the narrative comes through as a clever, innovative means of explaining complex spiritual ideas to readers.
Peace Between Breaths has its genesis in an extraordinary set of circumstances. While he served at London’s Sylvan Healing Sanctuary, Dada was informed by one of his colleagues that her spirit guide -- someone named Sister Miriam -- was using her as a medium to share her profound wisdom. Moved by these messages, the author felt “the knowledge they carried was integrated into [his] soul” and wished to share them with a wider audience. Peace Between Breaths is Dada’s attempt to bring these messages to the fore, albeit through a quasi-fictional lens.
Readers who dismiss the existence of ‘spirit guides’ as a fantasy concocted by fractured minds are advised against adopting a cynical approach to the book. Dada isn’t driven by any narrow ideological leanings or agendas. On the contrary, his focus remains on encouraging readers to probe deep into their souls and open a doorway to tranquility.
The narrative features Lily, who is burdened by a “familiar wave of suffocating black grief” and is on a quest to heal her troubled soul. Seated in a medieval chapel in Italy, she encounters Sister Miriam, a nun who claims to be her spirit guide. The nun promises to help her gain access to a “place of peace,” which is a rare gift that can be shared with the world. Through the power of meditation, Sister Miriam imparts pearls of wisdom to Lily and helps liberate her from the stranglehold of pain and distress. From the outset, Lily is told how her “breath holds the secret of birth, life and death” and is urged to find solace in the “pauses between inhaling and exhaling.” At other stages of Peace Between Breaths, Lily’s spirit guide casts a revealing light on the power of faith, generosity, freedom and change.
The narrative may have been filtered through a specific character’s perspective, but it isn’t restricted to the experiences encountered by a few people. Lily’s epiphanies possess a striking universality and will instantly appeal to a vast and diverse readership. In his comments on the book, author Duncan Baird believes Lily is “a metaphor for all our struggles and stumbles in life…all the mystery and the magic of what it is to be human”. As readers wade through Dada’s book, they will inevitably ponder over the extent to which they have prioritized their own well-being amid all the storms they encounter in life.
Challenges are an inescapable part of life. Mired in conflicts and emotional strife, we seldom take a moment to equip ourselves with the necessary tools to cope with difficult circumstances. Peace Between Breaths offers these tools to readers without relying on heavy jargon or platitudes. Instead, Dada presents crucial lessons in spirituality by focusing on measurable human experiences.
Spiritual self-improvement is a challenge in an inherently materialistic world steered by instant gratification. In his previous book, Disciple: The Spiritual Path to Infinite Happiness, Feroze Dada documented his transformative quest for inner peace, leading him to become a meditation practitioner. By merging the rigor of a memoir with the optimism of a self-help book, Disciple provided a roadmap for spiritual well-being and an antidote to the chaos surrounding us.
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