K. C. H

Above my head but nice narrator

Revisado: 01-23-25

I actually chose this book because of the narrator and topic combo so was surprised to see reviews on those who didn't enjoy his voice. Maybe it's because of the Breakfast with Buddha books I appreciate him. The book however was above my head. I can't say I really understood a lot of it but I don't know anything about Zazen so maybe it's not an introductory work. I'm very familiar with Buddhism in general but this was more maybe poetic in so many places. I fell asleep quite a bit (time of night, not the book) so can't say for sure but when I woke up it seemed like I just couldn't figure out what the heck they were talking about each time.

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Connection

Revisado: 01-09-25

I felt so connected to this story to the lives in it, as if I had some prior knowledge of these people. The life of a boy living very loved and working hard in a peaceful remote world, then ripped from everything and traumatized, rebellious, and eventually finding himself and helping others.
If only there were Buddhist people anywhere near me and I could learn directly, but until then I keep reading and this is definitely a favorite. I learned so much.
I also connect to that- the obstacles are the path, and everything in life is leading me to the day when I am ready to fully receive or know, enlightenment. Having listened to 10 years of Buddhist related books and been on a Rollercoaster ride of a life myself, I hope I have finally reached a place of awakening where I can fully know the three jewels, the Buddha, the dharma, and the Sangha. Looking forward to more

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Not what what expected or as good as her Coyote bk

Revisado: 08-02-23

So I purchased this without reading the description or even looking at the author, just based on the title, something I seldom do. I didn't even realize at first that it was the same author that wrote about the Coyote she raised in Ten Sleep Wyoming. I remember really liking that book but not why.
10 years ago and for 10 years I was one of those UPS drivers slowing down as I passed her place and had met her a few times. In real life she seemed more amplified and maybe nervous than the calm soothing voice of this book. If you are from New York or other big cities then her detailed explanation of county life might seem unique and incredible but for me it was just another day to get held up by cattle drive, help push hay off the truck, see odd things. It wasn't uncommon to deliver to someone living in a shack, without plumbing, the hunting tent at mile marker 48, or even a teepee.
I purchased the book because I now have a Master of Social Work degree for clinical therapy and Equine/Animal Assisted Therapy I have heard about how cows are very calming for many reasons, have had milk cows. I was hoping for more information on how people use them for therapy for helping others and not just one person's journey with a few cows. With all the details that normal life for me, the book just moves too slowly, but for my California friend it would probably be incredible, so I still give it 5 stars, unfinished. I will probably eventually finish it and maybe there is more of the information I was hoping for.

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One trainers journey and a lot of good info

Revisado: 07-03-23

I'm an experienced behaviorist and wanted the book to see what others do. My dog/baby situation went better than expected and I live in a rural area where people are less likely to try training and more likely to just get rid of the dog. I used to teach bite prevention to kids online.
This is one dog trainers personal journey and contains a lot of great information. She gives tons of training advice but I wish there was more information on how to add so much training into a busy schedule. I found it possible. I love the positive approach and good up to date behavior advice.
As a behaviorist/trainer myself (educated at Washington University Applied Animal Behavior program and with a Masters degree for clinical therapy and Animal Assisted Therapy ).
I'd say I don't agree with the apprehension on medications and if it had been tried long before the baby came there could have been a lot less work. Meditations have been extremely well studied in dogs, lots of data, and the disinhibition and worse problems/side effects she was worried about does happen but is not statistically as frequent as she made it seem. I was alway very anti medication in general, think the world takes too much, until I saw it change dog's lives again and again. Prozac in combination with trazadone or Xanax for more immediate relief and most vets give a sub-clinical dose and don't know the signs at 12-14 days that say it's the correct dose or you may need to increase as many as 5x to get to the correct dose. For me, I had two of the most scary dogs, one extremely possessive and one extremely aggressive, one needed meds and the other just needed a better more secure life. The one who needed meds was so bad he was kept in a crate in the back room the first few months I had him until the training and meds started to work, then he became the most wonderful dog we ever had.
The other thing I hope she mentioned, as I need to go back because I fell asleep a good part of the book, was how to add all this training into a busy schedule. You can do it with a busy life, slowly with lots of time and good management, give the dog a job compatible with its breed.
I wish I was the kind of person who could write a book and tell my story, but this one was well done.

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This is not that simple

Revisado: 03-15-23

He says you can get off-grid in 30 days. Having done this life and and just looking for more ideas on getting a few things finished, it is not this easy. Maybe it is if you have unlimited money but even when we had all the money we needed, hiring help for the things we couldn't do is booked out 6 months in remote places where they can't keep help, then you get a plumber who moved from California who doesn't understand the winter's in Wyoming.. Even having a really good understanding of electrical is not enough to get a solar system set up like he says. Then trying to get things done when you are fighting the elements and equipment is is always a challenge. You might be able to get somewhere in just an RV or something but life will be so much more difficult than you ever imagined that throwing in the towel is a frequent idea. I saw my neighbors go through this too. Two years later their marriage is hanging by a strand.
Modern luxuries are gone, things break, life off-grid is a test

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Detail pictures of a very different time and place

Revisado: 02-24-23

Can a man who neglected his relationship this much be capable of such depths of thought?
This book at times is hard to explain in the beginning. He's looking back at his journey and looking back from looking back.
1975 India is not what this man expected when he arrived. It was hot, had more bugs, disease, death, kids torturing animals in the streets, and an unfairness where people don't care to help a white guy out, like to get the correct forms after standing in a hot line for hours.
I looked by chapter 5 and was correct that the author was also the narrator. You can feel his calm and soothing connection to the book. He sounds perfectly fitting for the character, like an intelligent man, kinda sad, but certainly a person studying philosophy and reflecting on how empty he was in his marriage and without his wife. His voice is caring, soft and just perfect.
I am again surprised by another male character who has been meditating for years and yet still has this greed, anger, and lack of self awareness in the beginning of the book. My meditation practice, my, my spiritual practice, my search, me, me, me, and it took years for him to see it. Ego.
It has come up in books like this enough that I'm starting to believe it can happen and I've read that it can take months and years for meditation and mindfulness to change a person, but I felt changed by it almost immediately, within weeks of a regular practice.
It's been easier for me to absorb more buddhist inspired information in story format, fiction or non-fiction and I like this one.
His vivid explanations help me see into a time and place I've never been but occasionally I do look up something I don't know, like a rope charpoy. Other times I wish I had the actual book to look up an author or ancient person or place as I'm not spelling a few things correctly, hearing it correctly, or they don't exist.
Things that don't sound legit, like Gupta administrative policy as a research topic, most definitely are and get me down a rabbit hole.
By nearly the end of the book you see how the character develops into a person who is savvy enough to navigate this time and place and has earned the respect of the locals by learning the language. He truly evolves and finds himself.
Some of it seems so real that I investigate to find that the author/narrator did in fact spend a lot of time in India, do a lot of great things in his career, and sadly died in 2020 so I won't get to hear more great books from him as I was hoping.
This one ends kinda abruptly, like his life. It feels like there was just more story to tell even though it was really long.

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Love them all

Revisado: 01-30-23

I started this one out of order a while back and just didn't get into it like the others and then realized there were more books in the series than I knew. Listening now is the perfect moment in my life when I needed them.
I'm more of a non-fiction person and far more a dog person. I'm an animal behaviorist and don't generally anthropomorphize, yet this book felt to me like there was something about it very real. I kept wishing I could Google this Cafe and go meet these people.
I read all of his other books like this except Instant Karma. That one just seems way too made-up for me.
Having hit the end of the series, listened to his other stories, listed to all the cat books again, I am just wishing there was something that could touch me and teach me like these books again.
I've returned to my non-fiction collection, tried a bunch of new stuff- and wasted a bunch of credits. It seems I'm in the mood for more good stories with buddhist inspiration and just stuck in a rut not able to find anything.
The author needs a fan club that offers discussion on similar books or he needs to get busy and write some more.

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Love, but what to read now

Revisado: 01-30-23

This just really hit the spot when I needed it the most...
I'm more of a non-fiction person and far more a dog person. I'm an animal behaviorist and don't generally anthropomorphize, yet this book felt to me like there was something about it very real. I kept wishing I could Google this Cafe and go meet these people.
I read all of his other books like this except Instant Karma. That one just seems way too made-up for me.
Having hit the end of the series, listened to his other stories, listed to all the cat books again, I am just wishing there was something that could touch me and teach me like these books again.
I've returned to my non-fiction collection, tried a bunch of new stuff- and wasted a bunch of credits. It seems I'm in the mood for more good stories with buddhist inspiration and just stuck in a rut not able to find anything.
The author needs a fan club that offers discussion on similar books or he needs to get busy and write some more.
And my memory for detail is not always that great, lots of time from one book to the next by the time I read this one, so I didn't mind all the looking back and reintroducing the same characters again.

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Maybe for struggling moms

Revisado: 01-06-23

I was looking for more ways to really dig into the zen of being a mom. My first pregnancy at 41 came with a month long hospital stay and many complications and yet I have enjoyed every minute of this little guy. This book was awful. It was more about finding ways to escape the baby and get break from him. I know depression is really common in moms and thats why they ask at every appointment for the baby about how you are, but as a clinician I still couldn't find this book helpful for those. I don't remember why. It's been a long time now. I just remembered at points I was really disgusted with the book and couldn't finish it

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Can't get much better

Revisado: 01-19-19

My 12 year old step-son and I listen to this on our way out to our Wyoming ranch each night. We're captivated by the stories of a young boy who works so hard and and learns so many things, the hard way.
As an animal behaviorist, I enjoy that it is full of great insight on horse behavior. That doesn't mean I agree with every interpretation or method but this is a story of a boy learning to do things a kinder and better way than we generally see, a boy who grew up to be a great compassionate horse trainer.
Eventually our ranch (120 Acre Wood) will be a place for both animals and people to learn and overcome trauma and I will pass this audio on for others to experience. My son is learning to be so brave around the horses and this gives him encouragement (and probably a few bad ideas too).

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