Nothing to Grasp

by Joan Tollifson

This book points relentlessly to what is most obvious and impossible to avoid: the ever-present, ever-changing, nonconceptual actuality of the present moment that is effortlessly presenting itself right now. This book is an invitation to wake up from commonplace misconceptions and to see through the imaginary separate self at the root of our human suffering and confusion. Nothing to Grasp is a celebration of what is, exactly as it is.

Genres: Spirituality, Philosophy, Buddhism, Psychology, Nonfiction

184 pages, Paperback

First published August 29, 2012

Reviews

[Paul Sochiera · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book on Mindfulness I have read so far!
Very abstract though; for me it was tough to keep my focus sharp.

[Mathis Sötje · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5

[Brian Wilcox · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best book, not necessarily most profound overall, of many I've read on nonduality for clarifying nonduality for modern readers, especially readers socialized in cultures of duality.

I've read many books on nonduality but had never heard anyone speak of 'radical nonduality.' The author identifies with that position, while not differentiating 'radical nonduality' from other nonduality teachings, except indirectly. Without a knowledge of the other forms of nonduality, 'radical nonduality' may not be clear for readers.

I find, after reading this book, apparently I am not 'radical.' Rather than point out where I disagree with positions I would call extreme ('radical'), lacking clarification, and presented inconsistently, other readers can read to discern for themselves. I find, however, the author tempered my 'non-radical' position on freewill and inspired me to trust the flow of life more, and to see it as absolutely okay and natural for some persons to have no interest at all in religion or spirituality.

Putting concerns aside, and for I appreciate and enjoy profound teaching regardless of even major points of disagreement, I found this treatise captivating and well-written. One way I assess a book on spirituality is whether I feel empathy with the author based on what I sense about him or her through the work. What I sensed was a compassionate human being, a teacher willing to admit flawed humanness, and an expression of the sacred writing from a modest, considerate spirit for the good of those she writes to. She, also, writes as one well-schooled in her spiritual orientation. The work is written, likewise, in nontechnical language, and that, to me, reflects her compassionate outreach in a manner accessible to as many readers as possible.

I discovered Joan Tollifson through reading Toni Packer, and I'm glad I did. The positives of this book for me far outweigh any concerns on content. I would gladly read another work of this author. For anyone interested in spirituality or nonduality, this would be a good read. Likewise, the format is such that each section can be read in only a matter of minutes in one sitting, or several sections read at a time.

[Jay Mulford · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books on the subject of nondualty

The simplicity Joan entails, the quotes/references to other teachers she includes, the loving but balanced take on the whole matter of the human mind is nothing short of baffling. I've read many books on this topic and this marks one of the top two for me (along with Confusion No More by Ramesh). This is an amazing book.

[Jesper · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book about non-dual insight, something you could roughly describe as 'the direct experience of everything that happens as one undivided whole'. It straddles the line between spirituality, philosophy, psychology, and self-help. I'm unsure whether this is one of the most profound books that I've ever read, or complete nonsense. Perhaps it is both.

This book is a bit of a paradox, since it is basically using a lot of words to point out something (or rather every-thing or perhaps no-thing) that resists being described in words, and in fact does not need to be described anyway since it is always already there. Despite this seemingly impossible task, it does succeed at pointing in the right direction, if you are able to let it carry you along.

What I liked most about this book is how it relentlessly keeps pointing to the simplicity of its main message which really made me think deeply—and eventually stop thinking and just switch to a more direct way of experiencing which made the questions I was thinking about kind of dissolve and no longer seem relevant. This is a hard thing to describe (that's kind of the point of this book!) but an easy thing to experience.

My biggest criticism of the book is that it tells you again and again how there is nothing at all that you need to do. By itself this can be a powerful message, but it could also easily be misinterpreted to mean that it is fine to just sit all day doing nothing for the rest of your life, or we have no responsibility for our deeds towards others, or that there is no value in creating new things for the world. That is not actually what the book is saying, but the fact remains that it remains very light on the moral implications of this way of experiencing the world.

Another criticism you could have of this book is that it is unstructured and repetitive. It wanders and retraces and comes back to the same ideas again and again. I personally didn't mind and I think it actually helped me to better grasp (ha) the book. But for the purpose of this review, let me try to identify the main themes (10 of them!) and illustrate each of the themes with a few quotes from the book.

1. The seamless unicity of all things

"No continuous form exists or stands apart from everything else in the universe. Everything is one undivided, boundless event."

"It is a great relief to realize that in this undivided happening, there is no perfection apart from imperfection, that the light and the dark arise together like the crest and trough of the wave, that they cannot be pulled apart, and to appreciate the holiness of everything."

2. Being okay with what is

"When we relax into what is effortlessly happening all by itself Here/Now, we discover peace, freedom, love, joy—all the things we were searching for 'out there'."

"Awake to this present aliveness, there is an openness and a sense of wonder. We see beauty in the most ordinary things. We sense that everything is fundamentally okay even if it apparently isn't. We feel an ease of being. Even if we are grieving or feeling physical pain, there is an aliveness to it, a sense of fluidity and groundlessness."

3. Direct experience

"This is not about having some special experience or getting some special understanding. It's nothing more or less than the utter simplicity of what is, just as it is."

"Of course, thinking and conceptualizing are also a part of this seamless happening, but it is only in thinking and conceptualizing that we seem to get caught up in imaginary problems and dilemmas. It is only conceptually, in thought-generated stories, that we seem to be 'somebody' who needs to be different from how we are. That’s why it can be so liberating when attention shifts from thoughts to the bare simplicity of hearing, seeing, sensing, awaring."

4. The absence of the self

"We are each much more (and much less) than what we have imagined ourselves to be. We are each the unnameable presence-awareness that has no center, no owner, no location, no boundary, no form, no beginning and no end. We are each the whole universe and what remains when the universe ends. And at the same time, quite undeniably, we each seem to be playing the part of a particular character, and each of us is apparently watching and acting in a completely unique movie of waking life."

"We judge ourselves so harshly for being the way we are—as if there were some single entity called 'me' inside this bodymind who could and should get it together and do a better job of steering the ship."

5. The illusion of free will

"Thinking happens by itself—we don't really know in advance what our next thought will be—'the thinker' who seems to be authoring our thoughts is itself a thought, a mental image."

"Action happens, apparent choices occur, but there is no actor behind the action, no chooser behind the choices, no decided behind the decisions, no thinker behind the thoughts, no seer behind the seeing. To realize this directly is to wake up from the trance of blame, shame, guilt, retribution, and vengeance, all of which are predicated on the notion that there is an executive at the helm inside every bodymind, an independent unit of consciousness, a self that is freely choosing what to do."

6. The emptiness of all concepts

"As with any 'thing' the mind tries to grasp, when we look closely, nothing is there (apart from everything)."

"These are many words for one happening. The words only seem to divide what is actually undivided. In the end, the words are all 'sound and fury, signifying nothing.'"

"If we assert that there is a self or there isn't a self, or that there is free will or there isn't free will, it is never quite right because words simply cannot capture the fluidity and ungraspability of everything."

7. The nature of suffering

"Any attempt to resist what is happening or to seek something better only amplifies the sense of dissatisfaction."

"Rather than trying to paper over our suffering with comforting beliefs, this approach is about actually exploring directly what seems to be in the way of freedom, peace and happiness, what seems scary, dreadful and unbearable. It's one thing to believe that the tiger chasing you is only a mirage, and it's another thing entirely to actually turn around and embrace the tiger and find out for sure."

8. Liberation and enlightenment

"To be awake is to recognize the infinite in the finite, the emptiness in every form, the perfection in apparent imperfection, the wholeness in multiplicity."

"Waking up is the willingness to be in hell, the willingness to fail, to have all our human imperfections, to be exactly as we are in this moment."

"Liberation doesn't mean having The Answer. It doesn't mean that we've figured out how the universe works, but rather, that the itching *need* to figure it all out dissolves."

"There is no light apart from the dark, and no enlightenment apart from delusion. There is no permanently enlightened person. The very notion of such a thing is delusion."

9. Addiction and compulsion

"Longing to stop, thinking we 'should' stop, trying to stop, and this whole conflict between the desire to stop and the desire to indulge—all of it is part of the addiction (and is different from actually stopping)."

"It is easy to view [addiction and compulsion] as moral or spiritual failings and to blame ourselves or others for not being able to 'snap out of it' at will or 'just say no.' But in fact, we can't always 'snap out of it.' To simply tell people, as some spiritual teachings do, that we have a choice, that we create our own reality, that anyone can 'choose' to be rich and successful or to stop an addiction, that if we are suffering it is because we are choosing to suffer, such assertions easily pour salt in the wound."

10. What nonduality isn't

"Nonduality recognizes that there is nothing we need to do (other than exactly what we are doing), but it doesn't tell us that we need to do nothing."

"Nondual boundlessness includes the aspiration to relieve suffering and it includes the actions that follow from that aspiration."

"In many ordinary situations, to fixate exclusively on absolute truth and ignore relative truth can actually be a form of evasion, dishonesty, lack of compassion or downright stupidity."

"There are many biological, chemical, neurological, psychological, medical or social conditions that cannot be solved by awareness alone, and enlightenment does not mean that all of these problems are suddenly fixed. [Awareness] sees them with compassion and boundless love. It sees the light in the darkness. And it also doesn't hide in the light to avoid the darkness."

In conclusion, who would I recommend this book to? If you are hoping to get something out of it or improve your life in some way, you will probably be disappointed (but who knows). On the other hand, if you have some experience with meditation or mindfulness and are feeling 'stuck' on your path, then reading this book might help to dissolve that feeling of stuckness. In any case, reading this book will certainly be an interesting experience that will make you reflect on the nature of awareness, the notion of self, free will, enlightenment, and the universe. If that sounds like something you'd enjoy, then I'd say you should absolutely give it a try.

[Joel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joan Tollifson writes from personal experience in a humble, direct, down-to-earth manner. She does not adopt the thinly-veiled, false modesty of many spiritual writers, who seem to have all the answers and are on a higher plane of existence. She reveals her vulnerabilities and comes across as completely sincere and honest, and is a good writer, too. This is a book to be read slowly and meditatively. It is very thought-provoking.

As others have said, this is basically an Advaita / neo-Advaita / non-duality approach rooted in aspects of Buddhism (especially Zen) and Hinduism (Upanishads, although they are not quoted here). I must admit that I find this worldview to be very difficult to grasp and not entirely convincing, but Joan's book helps a great deal. The many paradoxes associated with this system are apparently unavoidable. She doesn't lay down a bunch of precepts or sectarian dogma, but instead urges the reader to pay attention to the here and now, practice acceptance of everything (especially the constantly changing impermanence of everything), and not chase some exalted idea of "enlightenment."

There are many nice insights here, but I still have great difficulty with several of them. Like many in the advaita mystical tradition, she argues for a pretty rigid form of determinism which I don't find convincing at all. Just because I cannot say why my thoughts flow in a particular pattern, I can't predict what I'll be thinking about in 60 seconds, whether I make 206 instead of 207 chewing motions at lunch today, or the exact order in which I pick up coins spilled on the floor does not mean that what actually happened was inevitable, the product of some mysterious universal consciousness doing the thinking and I'm just the vessel. With 100 billion neurons and 125 trillion synapses in a human brain, there's a lot of room for the unexpected and I don't need to invoke some mysterious ultimate cause. Rigid determinism excuses me of all responsibility or choice, and that is a pretty extreme doctrine. And if every single thing, down to the most trivial, is inevitable, what's the point of "playing the movie" and why would some enormous power decree that reality be this way? I feel quite comfortable with limited, but real, free will. But after sounding rigidly deterministic in some chapters, she leaves it open to be both/neither elsewhere. So her discussion is very loose and unconvincing.

There's also a "cheerful nihilism" in the book which asserts that everything in life and the universe is just the "cosmic dance" with no purpose or direction and there's no significance in the earth reaching the age of Aquarius or being incinerated in a nuclear fireball. Hitler had no choice, the holocaust was inevitable and meaningless (a consequence of the doctrine of rigid determinism), and really what's the big difference between a child dying of cancer at age 5 or living to a ripe old age? Or whether you find the cure for cancer or die of alcoholism in a gutter. Of course, it's quite possible that there actually is no real purpose or direction to our lives or the universe, but on a human level, there seems to be great significance to these differences and most spiritual traditions would disagree with her views here.

Finally, there seems to be the confusion that if something is impermanent (as in fact, everything is), it is illusory, and perhaps didn't ever really exist. Thus life is an illusion, you and I are non-existing creations of our mind (or some "universal awareness"), and we're no different than a pebble in a stream, a gust of wind, or a bullet though someone's brain - just passing phenomena, illusions of separateness. No birth, no death, perhaps not even a life. But to me, just because something is impermanent does not mean that it doesn't exist, at least temporarily, as something real but separate. Perhaps I don't understand the doctrine here, but advaita really seems like tortuously labored and paradoxical twisting of simple observations in the service of its pure, idealized definition of reality. And although Joan Tollifson doesn't say this here, other authors punt the ball and say "don't think; your logical mind will never understand; feel, see, intuit - then you'll know." But that becomes so entirely subjective, which is why there are nearly infinite spiritual and religious doctrines around the world. This is just one of them.

Nevertheless, these significant differences of understanding (my misunderstandings?) on a few key items do not reduce my admiration for the author and this book. It is very thought-provoking and, if you're into this sort of thing, it's well worth your time. It is much better than most of the books on this subject. Give it a try.

[Cherno Bah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clear, succinct and beautifully written

Joan Tollifson provides here, an honest, uplifting and transformational journey into the nature of life and its ultimate questions. Without dishing out any prescriptions, 'Nothing to Grasp' caresses you gently towards the end to seeking, and to a discovery of who we truly are - the boundless and effortless reality which is the groundless ground to all there is. As Joan puts it - 'Here/Now' - is all there is and all there will ever be. Read this book with an open mind and you will be amazed by its transformative silent power. A must read for all those who have been slugging it out on any so-called spiritual path whether based on Western or Eastern metaphysics, or any other system of thought and inquiry into the true nature of what or who we are.

[Phil Calandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is very difficult reviewing a book that is so contrary to the average person's view of life, the belief in a personal self and the belief in a Deity. Also, the author's view that we are pretty much not responsible for our actions seems difficult to accept. It should be noted that this is not a how to book. The explanations can be, at times, very ambiguous and confounding. The author states that enlightenment is our true state and that there is nothing to do but remember it. In some ways the various paths leading to enlightenment can be a hindrance to the process that often happens without intervention. This book seemed very esoteric and perhaps meant for the knowledgeable, seasoned and experienced practitioner.

[Roberto Gejman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am tired of reading books so redundant coming back to the same idea a thousand times. And it is by somebody that believes that words and thoughts are obstacles to awareness. I see this as a big contradiction. Couldn’t finish it.
Now, to the ideas. I can agree and understand that we are as natural as a rock, a plant or a dog, and that we have no more free will than those other natural “things”. What I don’t buy is the holographic idea that every part of the universe includes it all. This is mystic at is best, pure speculation. I will live and die and nobody in, say, Chicago, will be in the least influenced by that.

[REID NUTTING · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't think that I have ever said this about any book....

...but, this book, may be the best book I have ever read! I feel so blessed and content.
And, this woman can write the longest yet most cogent went and I've ever seen.....and, it works!!
BRAVA! A true pleasure!
Thank you!
W. Nutting
bdbmknetr@gmail.com

[Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is by far one of the best books I've read on liberation.
best read slowly to absorb the meaning. Nothing to grasp delivers a sucker punch to the minds labeling and dogma. it causes chaos because the mind can not get to grips of that there must be more to it. Enlightenment, nothing to grasp , you already are but didn't know it.

[lyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

what the f̵̸̸̢̡̢̛̹̤̦̦͙͎̗̯̯̫̘̭ͨ̍́̍̎͐ͮ̊ͪ̓͛͂ͣ̊̔ͣͫͤͯ̊́̀͘o̴̢̨̢̲͚̪̟͈͙̞̰̦̥ͪ̏͊̈͂ͬ͋͋̅́͘͝͝͠͠͠҉̵̷̢̧͜ư̵̴̵̴̸̸̸̢̧̧̡̝͔̠͍̞̙͕̱̹̭͟͜r͍̠͕̩̺̣͚̤͎̬̫̪̝̞͍͆͊͛͊ͭ̉f̷̨̨̛̼͖̩̭̭͕̭̰͔͖͎̹͛̌̒̃ͥ̂̍ͭ́̓̇ͯ͌ͪ̾̌̌͊͏̶͟͠͏̷̵̷̴̧̧͢͢͢͝ȏ̷̡̻̯̤͔͇͕͉̹͈͖̙̺̯̳ͣ̐ͦͬͮ̈̐̿̎̆ͬ͑ͬ̋̽ͤ͘͡ư̲̩̩̫̜͚̦̥͕̖̤͈̱͚̮͔̰̦̘ͮ͒̔͟͏̴̷̨̢͘͟͡͝͏̷̡҉̛ŗ̶̶̵̡̡̧̨̞̭̪͕̱̝̞̯͚̦̪ͨͭ́ͦͮ̄́ͬ̓ͫ͂ͯ̉͐̅́̕̕͟͜͢͢͝͞͡͡͡f̸̡̧̣̱̮̯͉̫͇̗̺̓ͦ̄ͯ̉ͤ̉̍ͥ̓̉̚̚͜͜ơ̷̷̡͖̬̝̲̖̭̪̙͈̙͚ͥ̃̈̈̃ͤ̅͗̓͒̌͠͞͡҉ư̷̴̢̨̫͔̖̺͉̮̤͙̜̭̲̪̞̦͉͖̜͖̈́́ͫ̓͌ͨ̇ͧ́͋ͯ͒͆̌̍̕r̴̰̲̮̮̭̳̦̣͖̖̻͍̦̎ͯ̂͌̑ͫ̂͑̃ͪͪͯ̏ͨ̽ͫͯ̂̐҉͏̷̷̷̛f̶̨̹͖̬̠͕ͦ͐́̏̊̍̋͏̶ơ͎̱̥̣̣̟͉̙̣͉̬̲̙̹̺̭͙̒ͩͦͣ̐̽ͦ͊̀͑͛́̀́͠ͅͅ͏̧́́͘͢҉̶̀͞ȗ̜͎̯̩̩͍͙ͅr̻̜̼̮͙̣̯̲̯̠̝̘͇͍̲̖ͬ͌̈̎̅ͯ̀̌̈f̵̶̵̴̼̫̗̮̄͆͑̌ͭ̄͌͋̀́͘͜͡͏̷̡͏͝o̶̸̵̧̧̧̨͈͖̯̜͔͍͕͔̥͍͙͍͌͆͐́́́̕͜͟͜ù̘̖̼͕̳͇̥̠͖͔̺̮̦͎̗͔̖̑ͤ̀̒͂̊̅͊ͬ͘͝ͅr̢̛̛̟͍͚̭͖͎̮̼̱̔ͭ́̓̇̀̀͡͞f̸̵͚̖͙̻̩͉͙̘͔̈̃̈ͤ͂ͨ̅̃̊͌͐̄͒́̓̈́ͨ̈́̚͘o̡̹͖̪̫̹̻̦͓͇̜̹ͧ́͐͛̒ͭ̆̇̏͛ͮͨ̏̀u̜̫̞̳̝̞ͯ̅̉̒̌͆͏̡̢̛̕͢ŗ̹̤͍̜̦͍͓͔̩̠̟̙͚ͮ͆̊̏ͅ҉̸̴̡͏̴̕͢҉̡̧̕҉f̹̖ͦ̎ͣͧͯ͑ͨ̓̔̒ȯ̪̰̫̤̤̳̳͔͍̭ų̛̮̣̗̟̼͍̼̲͔̯͓͍͎̳͍̬̜̅ͪ͑ͣͪ̿̎̆̃ͭͣͦ͠҉̸̶҉̵̕r̙̞̟̳̟̜̱͇͚̮͖̪̯̬̺̙͛̐͋ͬ̉͛̐̎ͭ̇̿͗ͦ̚̚͟ͅ

"In the movie of waking life that starts playing every morning, I seem to be a character in an unfolding drama, and whenever I turn on the news, the world seems to be an epic battleground between good and evil. The story is mesmerizing and seems very real. But then magically, every night in deep sleep, the whole movie disappears and I disappear along with it. What remains in deep sleep can never be perceived or conceived. It is the groundless ground, that which is prior to consciousness, that which is consciousness. In night dreams and in the dream-like movie of waking life, this groundlessness appears as infinite forms. When we look closely, we see that these forms are nothing but continuous change, and that no solid, independent persisting thing ever actually forms except conceptually, as an idea."

(p. 4).

"Any interpretation of this present experiencing (what it is, or why it is) can be doubted, but that it is, is beyond doubt. You can doubt any conclusions you draw about this present experiencing (for example, that it’s a brain creation based on sensory input from an external world made up of chemicals, atoms, molecules, subatomic particles, quarks or strings, or that it’s all consciousness, or that it’s a dream or an illusion)‌—‌these conclusions can all be doubted, but the bare experiencing of this present happening, the here-ness or now-ness or suchness of it, this requires no belief and is impossible to deny. Even if we believe it to be an illusion or a dream, it is still undeniably appearing. "

(p. 13).

"The child molester, the serial killer, the drunk who dies on the sidewalk in a pool of urine and vomit are no less the Holy Reality than the mother who lovingly cares for her children, the aid worker who goes to help the famished, or the monk who lives a life of pristine serenity and clarity. And at the center of everything (every form, every sensation, every perception, every idea), if we look closely, we find no-thing at all, only that which cannot be found for it is too close, too intimate to grasp."

(pp. 24-25).

"If we say, 'This is it,' the words create the very split they attempt to point beyond. If we say 'All is One,' it is one too many. If we call it 'nothing,' it seems to deny the undeniable presence of everything. If we assert that 'there is nothing to do,' it seems to overlook the necessity of doing whatever we are moved by life to do. If we assert that 'there is something to do,' it makes it sound as if something else is required in order to be what we already are. The dualistic mind grasps, reifies, asserts, denies and fixates. It takes positions and clings to those positions, mistaking them for reality. It identifies with its positions and feels threatened when they are questioned. But to cling to any conceptual map of reality is to miss the ever-changing actuality of this-here-now."

(p. 56).

"Any apparent dysfunction is all part of the larger functioning."

(p. 113).

"And if we can’t stop worrying, no problem. This, too, is only a movement of energy, a fleeting fleeting appearance in a dream. This whole movie of waking life, our entire spiritual adventure, anything we can experience, all the worries and all the moments of bliss, everything perceivable and conceivable, all of it is no more substantial than a dream. Trying to get out of the dream is part of the dream. The one who wants to escape the dream is a character in the dream. The Ultimate Dreamer is already outside the dream, unbound by the dream, and the dream itself is only an appearance. All the forms that appear in this dream-like movie of waking life (buildings, cars, people, thoughts, feelings, emotions) are as impermanent and as insubstantial as cloud formations. Whatever seemingly important changes occur in the movie of waking life are like the changes that occur in a dream. They seem to matter greatly during the dream, in the context of the dream, but in waking up, the whole world of the dream disappears completely. Waking up is the end of spirituality in the usual sense of that word."

(p. 138).

"Maybe we could say that liberation is the end of seeking liberation somewhere else or imagining that liberation looks different in any way from right here, right now."

(p. 164).

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

The very best of non duality

Finally we find a book and a writer who is very clear in explaining things that we cannot not understand. This is the guide book I to explanation of waking up.

[Christopher Cozzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Direct Path explained directly

For anyone interested in the nature of reality according to the way of 'zen' this is a no BS description. Very true and very freeing. Will continue to re-read.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, I think, has a lot of truth. Much of it is hard to grasp, some rings true as long as you don’t think about it too deeply, some is profound and worth meditating on. The book is probably worth buying, and reading in bits and pieces.

[George Hardy · Rating 5 out of 5]

It rang the bell for me.

And when the last reverberation died away into the stillness, no one remained apart. I can only say that if this book speaks to you, what it says may mark the end of your seeking.

[Alex Gama · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read to understand the main ideas behind nonduality/mindfulness/buddhism. I wish I had more practice to understand it better. However, the author probably would say “this is just as is” and “is the pathless path” and finally “ideas are just the map, not the terrain”…

[La Bruja Medusa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it, very understandable way to explain the inexplicably.

[Sayme White · Rating 5 out of 5]

She puts you right there

Joan Tollifson puts you exactly where you already are. I love her words. She is very clear and simple .

[JB Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty Good

Not the greatest assembly of words ever put together, but definitely worth a look. It might even open the door, so to speak, to the ever present Hear/Now.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

kind of only want to read Joan Tollifson books now

[Anoop Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly wonderful read. Harsh but beautiful. An alternate way to look at nonduality. The pathless path is both the easiest and the hardest depending on your take.

[Kay Backhouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I have read on letting go and living in the present. Joan’s words are like water. I love the way she writes with honesty, grace and humility.

[Julie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’ve started meditating and I’m learning about mindfulness and how it can help with lessening anxious thoughts. Like most people, my minds tends to be looking forward or backwards and I am rarely in the moment. I’ve read several books that have helped me understand the importance of being here now and was hoping this book would add to that knowledge base I am acquiring. I hoped in vain.

Tollifson takes that Ram Dass slogan Be Here Now and runs with it to the point that nothing matters. We just exist. And not separately.I read a helpful description once(not in this book) about the concept of the universal one. To paraphrase it poorly, the universe is like a river and then there is a waterfall and the water separates into tiny droplets going over the edge and the droplets meet up again in the pool of water beneath the waterfall. The river is the universe. Life is like the waterfall, we momentarily separate on Earth, and at death we rejoin the pool of water/the universe. I like that concept. I “get” it. I don’t “get” Tollifson’s comments.

there is no independent or persisting someone who is born and who eventually dies. There is only this inexplicable thorough-going flux or boundless presence, just as it is, from which nothing stands apart-vast emptiness flowering into this ever-changing appearance.

When we truly see that there is no separate, independent, persisting form of any kind -that no actual borders or seams exist between subject and object, self and not-self, birth and death-that there is only this ever-changing, ever-present boundlessness-then there is no body and no mind apart from the totality.

Uh…..I am glad she finds that comforting but the utter negation of the self doesn’t do it for me.

I quit reading about 50 pages into the book, after the part about how nothing anyone does matters. We aren’t in control. We should just, I don’t understand exactly, just “be”. I disagree. Sometimes we
are in control. Sometimes what we do does make a difference. All I could think of was, I wonder if Tollifson is a parent? Because I can’t wait for the universe to change the baby’s diaper. I need to be in control.

Instead of trying to intentionally fix or improve "myself" or "the world," I am more open to allowing everything to heal itself in its own way, in its own time, as it does anyway.

This bare intimacy is neither an effortful, goal-oriented, improvement-seeking exertion, nor is it any kind of passive or fatalistic resignation. It is an energetic aliveness, an openness that includes everything and sticks to nothing.

Why isn’t is passive? Everything I read, her explanations sounded passive. I didn’t agree with her description about why people do things -improvement seeking exertion. It sounds so negative and stressful.

Maybe I’m stupid. I was flummoxed by her take on things. I couldn’t relate at all.

[Alicia Zuto · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book that really makes you feel like you're there and she is conducting a class for mindfulness with you. It does get repetitive but that's necessary with the way she goes about feeding you the knowledge necessary to get amped up and find that silver lining.

[Michel Ghorra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book