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Jan Chozen Bays
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How to Train a Wild Elephant: And Other Adventures in Mindfulness Paperback – July 12, 2011

by Jan Chozen Bays (Author)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 523 ratings
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A growing body of research is showing that mindfulness can reduce stress, improve physical health, and improve one’s overall quality of life. Jan Chozen Bays, MD—physician and Zen teacher—has developed a series of simple practices to help us cultivate mindfulness as we go about our ordinary, daily lives. Exercises include: taking three deep breaths before answering the phone, noticing and adjusting your posture throughout the day, eating mindfully, and leaving no trace of yourself after using the kitchen or bathroom. Each exercise is presented with tips on how to remind yourself and a short life lesson connected with it.
Previous page
  1. Print length
    224 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Shambhala
  4. Publication date
    July 12, 2011
  5. Dimensions
    5.5 x 0.65 x 7.72 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1590308174
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1590308172
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Among the current spate of books on mindfulness, Bays’s distinguishes itself with 53 simple practices tested through 20 years at the Great Vow Monastery in Oregon. [She] brings gentle compassion to the task of integrating mindfulness into a busy life.”—Publishers Weekly

“With simple exercises designed to bring mindfulness into daily life and with gentle ways to remind ourselves to practice, the author leads practitioners to the discoveries and deeper lessons that each exercise can reveal. With [Jan Chozen Bays’s] help, mindfulness practice becomes a powerful yet delightful gateway to the inner peace that is within reach of us all.”—Spirituality & Health


“In a brilliant, practical, and elegant way, Bays has answered the question most frequently asked by students of meditation, ‘How do I bring this practice into my daily life?’ Here is a jewel box of insightful, wise, beautiful, and compassionate ways to do so.”—Jack Kornfield, author of A Path with Heart

“A delightful collection of simple, down-to-earth exercises anyone can use to live each day more mindfully. Rich with wisdom, psychological insight, and fresh perspectives, this is a great resource for anyone wishing to live a fuller, saner, happier, more conscious life.”—Ronald D. Siegel, PsyD, assistant clinical professor, Harvard Medical School, author of The Mindfulness Solution

“A collection of mindfulness practice gems. The writing is often funny and always forthright. How to Train a Wild Elephant is an accessible, helpful, and thoughtful book.”—Dr. Arnie Kozak, Beliefnet blogger for Mindfulness Matters


“This warm, welcoming, and wise book invites us to practice mindfulness now, right in the midst of life. The weekly exercises are illuminating, immensely practical, and fun.”—Diana Winston, UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center, co-author of Fully Present: The Science, Art, and Practice of Mindfulness

“Regardless of the path you travel on your spiritual journey, How to Train a Wild Elephant can help you ‘live life more fully and joyfully.’”—Portland Woman magazine


“This is the kind of book you can open to any page, anytime, and read something that just might stop your mind in its tracks.”—Nexus

“Inspirational collection of 53 fun, simple exercises designed to increase awareness and fulfillment in everyday life. The refreshing primer insightfully explores compassion, creativity, faith, and fear.”—Library Journal

About the Author

Jan Chozen Bays, MD, is a Zen master in the White Plum lineage of the late master Taizan Maezumi Roshi. She serves as a priest and teacher at the Jizo Mountain–Great Vow Zen Monastery in Clatskanie, Oregon. She is also a pediatrician who specializes in the evaluation of children for abuse and neglect.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Shambhala; 1st edition (July 12, 2011)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1590308174
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1590308172
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.65 x 7.72 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 523 ratings

About the author

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Jan Chozen Bays

Jan Chozen Bays

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Jan Chozen Bays, MD, is a Zen master in the White Plum lineage of the late master Taizan Maezumi Roshi. Along with her husband, Hogen Bays, she serves as a priest and teacher at the Jizo Mountain-Great Vow Zen Monastery in Clatskanie, Oregon. She is also a pediatrician who specializes in the evaluation of children for abuse and neglect. She is a wife, mother and grandmother and loves to garden, play marimba and sculpt Jizo images.

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
523 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Joe G.
5.0 out of 5 stars Mindfulness in everyday life
Reviewed in the United States on November 27, 2023
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Excellent book on how to practice mindfulness. There are so many examples cited that it is easy for almost everyone to fine some useful practices.
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DebK
5.0 out of 5 stars Fun and useful little book
Reviewed in the United States on October 21, 2015
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This is a delightful little book with 53 short (3 pages) descriptions that lead you into a weekly mindfulness practice. Mindfulness isn't just about sitting around in silence to clear the mind. No, it is about how you live your everyday life. The stories are funny, cute, short, but they bring you to an awareness of options and opportunities you have everyday to become more mindful in everything that you do. The book begins with a great overview of what mindfulness is and why it is beneficial. I find a lot of mindfulness material to be too "woo-woo". Not this book.Each chapter consists of an exercise (use your non-dominate hand, become aware of your posture, pay attention to suffering, become aware of procrastination, look deeply into food) with a detailed description of how to do the exercise follwed by ways to remind yourself. Each chapter has a section on Discoveries which help you to see how the particular exercise can influence you life. Then there is a Deeper Lessons section which take the experience to another level. The chapter closes with some final word of wisdom. All this in 3 pages! I like to use these exercises as opener when I facilitate groups, regardly of the type of group or topic we will be addressing. They provide a nice introduction into being present, in the moment. Working through the exercise for an entire week really does stimulate mindfulness, gratitude and a sense of wholeness. Give it a try. If for no other reason, having a book on your self with this title will draw your or someone elses attention to it!
16 people found this helpful
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S. Cara Lucille Garofalo
5.0 out of 5 stars This book was recommended to me by a mindfulness instructor as one of ...
Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2016
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This book was recommended to me by a mindfulness instructor as one of the best books available on mindfulness. It offers a creative, simple approach to the concept of mindfulness. If you're like me, you're thinking, "I'd like to practice mindfulness, but I don't have the time to add one more thing to my schedule." In a clear and readable introduction, the author defines and explains mindfulness, its benefits, and the misconceptions about it. The fifty-three concise mindfulness exercises provided in this book can easily be incorporated into your day. They are designed to " help [you] be more aware, happy, and at ease within the flow of a busy life." It is suggested that you practice one exercise per week, either in the order presented or skipping around to one you find more appealing in a particular week. The aim is to build your repertoire of mindfulness practices over a year's time until you are living more aware and present to the moments of your life. Each three-page exercise is divided into a one-paragraph description of the exercise, followed by the sections, Reminding Yourself, Discoveries, Deeper Lessons, and Final Words. They provide an and easy and practical approach to learning mindfulness.
2 people found this helpful
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Sugar Schack
5.0 out of 5 stars Practicing Mindfulness with excellent exercises to try
Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2017
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This has hands on exercises to play around with in developing a mindfulness habit in your daily lifestyle. Each chapter is broken up by The Exercise (explaining what it is, briefly), How to Remind Yourself to do the exercise daily, discoveries from her own time doing these at the monastery in Oregon, Deeper Lessons other students have experienced while trying this exercise, and final words, which has a sentence or two to take away from the purpose of this exercise. I have put myself to try one a week, I am on "Filler Words" this week (noticing when you use "filler words" in speech). I have already completed Using Your Non-Dominant Hand and Leave No Trace (reset every space exactly how you found it when you are finished). Strangely enough, these few have also led me to consider how I pick things up or put things down: Do I put things down with a bang or gently place them on the table? They aren't related, but once you start noticing things, it's difficult to STOP noticing things that you do.
16 people found this helpful
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R. B. Lonning
4.0 out of 5 stars Good book for group discussion
Reviewed in the United States on June 26, 2013
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I do not see a lot of value in this book if you are just looking for an individual read. While you could do the practices by yourself I see value in discussing the topics in a group. The entire book is set up in chapters that talk about how to do a specific thing for an entire week to become more mindful. Again - great book for a group to follow.
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Jason F.
5.0 out of 5 stars An incredible book with great activities
Reviewed in the United States on March 14, 2014
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This book is amazing! I had picked it up at my library and could not put it down. All of the daily activities are great to get your mind geared towards living in the present and being fully aware. I especially love the exercise to Leave a Room without a Trace, in which you try and designate a room in your house for a week and make sure you leave no trace of having been in there (i.e. kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, etc.). It is incredible to put forth just the extra few minutes to be mindful of your surroundings and your actions. I found myself wanting to leave no trace in multiple rooms! And that specific exercise perfectly illustrates how we want to leave this world a better place than how we had entered it. I've been buying this book as gifts for friends and family!
12 people found this helpful
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Jim Prudden
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Book to Bring Mindfulness into Daily Life
Reviewed in the United States on December 24, 2021
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Easy to read the simple steps that anyone can use to bring mindfulness into their daily lives. Time well spent.
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Wonderlust
5.0 out of 5 stars Lets hope this elephant never forgets!
Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2013
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I loved the book!. I started "the leaving no trace project" that project alone got me on track. Everyone needs to read this book. It is more than a self help book, it truly can change your life one little step at a time. All you need to do is get on the path, stay on it, and never look back. I would highly recommend this book especially for senior citizens who are trying to decide whether to stay in their own homes or go into "assisted living." My advice: get rid of the clutter, take one baby step at a time, downsize everything, maybe get a like minded room mate and stay in your own humble little abode. Keep life simple.

Rosa McCurdy 81 year old former wild elephant loving life and keeping a neat home on my own!
42 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Keith McL
5.0 out of 5 stars Mindfulness Practices Explained Simply and to the Point
Reviewed in Canada on May 4, 2023
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“How to Train a Wild Elephant” is a great book chalk full of ideas and practices of mindfulness. Jan Chozen Bays has us integrate one practice at a time until it becomes a habit. Then we move to the next one. Before long we have become happy and contented.

I find that a lot of mindfulness and Zen books don’t give a clear picture of our natural clear peaceful and contented consciousness. They make the task an almost Herculean ordeal that takes years to attain. Jan makes our task simple. Just do her practices without ideas of gain and there you are living a mindful lofe.

Jan Chozen Bays has another tiny book called “Mindfulness on the Go”. I bought both. But you only need this one as many of the practices are repeated. The other book is easier to carry and full of mindfulness reminders.
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Wicca Wolf
5.0 out of 5 stars Great
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 2, 2023
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Some nice activities in this book, easy to understand and carry out.
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Himabindu Godavari
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
Reviewed in India on November 16, 2019
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I swear this is a great book. If we can follow the book , life would definitely be joyful and peaceful!.
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太郎
5.0 out of 5 stars 「「今、ここ」に意識を集中する練習」の原本です。
Reviewed in Japan on January 17, 2018
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翻訳本に感動して原本を購入しました。原本でMindfulnessを学んでいます。英文タイトルは、日本語訳では意訳されていますが、わかりやすいと思います。
3 people found this helpful
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Gabriele Rossi
5.0 out of 5 stars Bello
Reviewed in Italy on November 16, 2015
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Collezione di articoli su piccole azioni quotidiane per migliorare la propria vita.
Si legge in fretta e mette di buonumore.
Consigliato.
***letto su kindle***
One person found this helpful
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