I recommend this book! Its author, Don Miguel Ruiz, has a gift for writing in a way that inspires us to change our lives for the better. He was born in Mexico into a family of healers. His mother was a curandera (healer) and his grandfather a nagual (shaman). Early in his life, he had no conscious intention of carrying on the esoteric tradition of his ancestors, the Toltecs, who are known throughout southern Mexico as the“women and men of knowledge.” Instead, he began to study medicine with the desire to become a surgeon. But an accident turned his life in a completely different direction.
While driving late one night, he fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into a concrete wall. Then he experienced something that radically changed his life. He saw himself going out of his physical body and helping to rescue his two friends traveling with him. The shock of his experience made him rethink his life and turn back to the tradition of his ancestors. It was their wisdom on achieving personal freedom that he later shared in his books.
I Recommend This Book!
Its author, Don Miguel Ruiz, has the gift of writing in a way that inspires us to change our lives for the better. He was born in Mexico into a family of healers. His mother was a curandera (healer), and his grandfather a nagual (shaman). At the beginning of his life, he had no conscious intention of continuing the esoteric tradition of his ancestors—the Toltecs, who throughout southern Mexico are known as “the women and men of knowledge.” Instead, he began to study medicine with the desire to become a surgeon.
An accident, however, turned his life in a completely different direction. While driving late one night, he fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into a concrete wall. He then experienced something that radically changed his life. He saw himself leaving his physical body and helping to save the two friends who were traveling with him. The shock of what he had experienced made him rethink his life and return to the tradition of his ancestors. It is precisely their wisdom about attaining personal freedom that he later shares in his books.
The main feeling his books leave in me is a feeling of freedom. It is about freeing ourselves from those beliefs and convictions that we adopted uncritically as children, but which diminish our personal dignity. For me, they are a kind of cognitive psychotherapy in action, which helps us replace beliefs that distort reality with others that are closer to reality. Their purpose is to help us “wake up” and see the lies in which we live:
“We are born in truth, but over time we begin to believe in lies… One of the greatest lies is the lie of our imperfection…”
Don Miguel Ruiz not only proposes that we examine and re-evaluate the truth of the beliefs with which we grew up and which have become part of ourselves. He also proposes new beliefs with which to replace our old “agreements with ourselves.” If we begin to practice them daily, they can lead to radical change in our lives.
Here are these agreements in brief:
Agreement 1: Be impeccable with your word.
Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using your word to speak against yourself or to spread gossip about others. Use the power of your word only in the direction of truth and love.Agreement 2: Do not take anything personally.
Nothing other people do is because of you or against you. What others say or do is a projection of their own reality, of their own dream. When you remain untouched by the opinions and actions of others, you will not become a victim and will not suffer unnecessarily.Agreement 3: Do not make assumptions.
Always find the courage to ask questions and to express what you truly want. Communicate clearly with others so that misunderstandings, sadness, or drama may be avoided. This agreement alone is enough to completely transform your life.Agreement 4: Always do your best in the given moment.
This “best” will change from moment to moment; for example, it will be different when you are healthy than when you are ill. Whatever the circumstances, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-punishment, and regret.
Enjoy your reading!
Note: The quoted passages are translated from Bulgarian.
