by Jan Chozen Bays
Shambhala Publications, $14.00, 224 pages
It is imperative that people move beyond the living-dead zone. Get past the automatic patterns of day-to-day being. This book can help bring meaning to your emptiness, unhappiness, and boredom. Those who are unfulfilled or find something missing in their life should read How to Train a Wild Elephant by Jan Chozen Bays. The trick is training the dangerous wild elephant stampeding through the jungle. It is hard. I’ve kept at it though, and it gets easier with practice. All of the exercises are realistic and doable. I now feel with the soles of my feet and love life. I feel more connected and better grounded. This is not a “woo-hoo” experience; instead, it is a wakeup call. Try it and experience that which is around you instead of auto-piloting through life, then complaining because you forgot to live right now.
On a side note, this is not M. Linehan. I thought this might be a workbook for borderlines; however, only a few chapters are sophisticated for that population. I do strongly recommend worriers and the mildly- to moderately-unhappy to work through the chapters. I think Jan Chosen Bays can take this concept further into weight control. Perhaps there will be another book in the near future.
Sarafina Bottechelli