Joan Tollifson Knihy

This book celebrates the great stripping process of aging, dying and spiritual awakening. Beautiful, poignant, at times humorous, transcendent, messy, down to earth, refreshingly honest--the book explores death, and more importantly, being alive, through a rich mix of personal stories and spiritual reflections. Joan writes about her mother's final years and about being with friends and teachers at the end of their lives. She shares her own journey with aging, anal cancer, and other life challenges. She explores what it means to be alive in what may be the collapse of civilization and the possible extinction of life on earth due to climate change. Pointing beyond deficiency stories, future fantasies, and oppressive self-improvement projects, Joan invites an awakening to the immediacy of this moment and the wonder of ordinary life. She demonstrates a pathless path of genuine transformation, seeing all of life as sacred and worthy of devotion, and finding joy in the full range of our human experience.

Born with only one hand, Joan Tollifson grows up feeling different. She comes out as a lesbian in the tumultuous 1960's, sinks into alcoholism and drug abuse, sobers up in 1973, becomes a political activist, embraces Zen Buddhism and then a very bare-bones spirituality that has no fixed form or tradition, and spends a number of years living and working at a rural meditation retreat center. Bare-Bones Meditation reveals the inner process of the mind in a new way, and Tollifson's account is beautifully written--intense and from the heart.

Grounded in the complexities of daily life, this edition emphasizes non-dual understanding, challenging the notion that enlightenment is a distant goal. It addresses the disconnect between spiritual ideals and personal experience, urging readers to recognize that what they seek is already present. Through a fresh exploration of themes like addiction, free will, and identity, the book encourages self-discovery without reliance on external authorities. Its honest and humorous approach invites readers to uncover their true nature.

Exploring profound questions about identity and existence, the book delves into the nature of separation and the journey toward recognizing our inherent wholeness. It challenges readers to confront personal and global suffering, addiction, and the essence of enlightenment. Through lively discussions, the author invites contemplation on the effort required for awakening versus the notion of it being an effortless state. Ultimately, the work encourages a deeper understanding of life’s movement and the simplicity of being, free from the stories that contribute to human suffering.

Nothing to Grasp invites readers to explore their experience in the here and now, wake up from commonplace misconceptions, and see through the imaginary separate self at the root of human suffering and confusion. This book points relentlessly to what is most obvious and impossible to avoid--the ever-present, ever-changing, nonconceptual actuality of the present moment, which is effortlessly presenting itself right now--and encourages readers to celebrate life, exactly the way it is.

Wenn wir von der hypnotischen Verzückung des obsessiven, selbstbezogenen Denkens gefangen genommen sind, fühlen wir uns eng, zusammengezogen, starr und eingesperrt. Wir fühlen uns getrennt. Die Entdeckung, die uns befreit, ist keine Philosophie oder Überzeugung, sondern das Verschwinden des imaginären Problems in die Offenheit des Hier/Jetzt. Wenn Bewusstsein in die Einfachheit der nackten Präsenz hinein entspannen kann, öffnet sich etwas. Wir sind in Harmonie mit einer größeren Intelligenz, genauer gesagt fällt die Illusion weg, dass wir von ihr getrennt sind. Darauf hat Leonard Cohen hingewiesen, als er sagte: „Du lässt dein Meisterwerk zurück und sinkst in das wahre Meisterwerk ein.“ Du hörst auf, das Leben kontrollieren zu wollen. Du hörst auf, deinen Weg in die Befreiung denken zu wollen und entspannst dich in das, was du bereits bist und nicht nicht sein kannst – die ständig gegenwärtige, alles einschließende Unmittelbarkeit, die sich mühelos von selbst ereignet.