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The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom (A Toltec Wisdom Book)
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| List Price: | $12.95 |
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Average customer review:
1. Always do your best
2. Don't make assumptions
3. Be impeccable with your word
4. Don't take anything personally
Good advice, huh! :-)
Product Description
Rooted in traditional Toltec wisdom beliefs, four agreements in life are essential steps on the path to personal freedom. As beliefs are transformed through maintaining these agreements, shamanic teacher and healer don Miguel Ruiz asserts lives will "become filled with grace, peace, and unconditional love." Author workshops.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #1497 in Books
- Published on: 1997-11
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Paperback
- 138 pages
Features
- ISBN13: 9781878424310
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
- Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Sit at the foot of a native elder and listen as great wisdom of days long past is passed down. In The Four Agreements shamanic teacher and healer Don Miguel Ruiz exposes self-limiting beliefs and presents a simple yet effective code of personal conduct learned from his Toltec ancestors. Full of grace and simple truth, this handsomely designed book makes a lovely gift for anyone making an elementary change in life, and it reads in a voice that you would expect from an indigenous shaman. The four agreements are these: Be impeccable with your word. Don't take anything personally. Don't make assumptions. Always do your best. It's the how and why one should do these things that make The Four Agreements worth reading and remembering. --P. Randall Cohan
From Publishers Weekly
Ruiz's explanations of Toltec-based cosmography got a major boost recently when publishing pooh-bah Oprah Winfrey mentioned his work on her TV show. Ruiz, whose workshop teachings are distilled here, was born into a Mexican family of traditional healers, became a surgeon in adulthood, then underwent a near-death experience that made him reexamine his life, his beliefs. Like the popular works of the late Carlos Castaneda, Ruiz's teachings focus on dreams and visions. "Dreaming," Ruiz argues, "is the main function of the mind." A series of four "agreements" are detailed, which make up a larger picture of unconditional human faith. Despite the New Age- sounding language, Ruiz is refreshingly clear in the presentation of his ideas. Reading aloud, actor Coyote sounds every bit the enthusiastic old hippie, genuinely excited by the concepts he is spinning. Based on the 1997 Amber-Allen edition.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From AudioFile
Peter Coyote gives a straightforward, even narration of this compact writing on the limitations we impose upon ourselves. The four agreements provide a different way of thinking about a life with fewer limitations and more opportunity for joy and wonder. At times Coyote has the tone of a teacher, at other times that of a stern parent, and at other times that of an understanding friend who wants only the best for you. He speaks with quiet authority, setting out this set of clear principles. Listen as Coyote advises you to set aside assumptions, open your mind, and prepare for your way of thinking to be transformed. J.E.M. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
Customer Reviews
A Must-Have Book If You Want To Be Free
Don Miguel Ruiz is known as a nagual, or shaman, of the Toltec tradition. The Toltecs were an ancient group of scientists and artists that was formed to explore and preserve the practices and spiritual knowledge of the ancient ones. It is not a religion, but a way of life that embraces spirit and honors all the spiritual masters who have taught on the earth. Toltec wisdom arises from the same essential unity of truth as other sacred esoteric traditions that are found all over the world.
The Four Agreements are very simple, but very profound. To embrace and live each of the Four Agreements is to find yourself experiencing personal freedom--possibly as never before. The Four Agreements are:
Be Impeccable With Your Words
Don't Take Anything Personally
Don't Make Assumptions
Always Do Your Best
From the cover of the book:
Be Impeccable With Your Word: Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.
Don't Take Anything Personally: Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won't be the victim of needless suffering.
Don't Make Assumptions: Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness, and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.
Always Do Your Best: Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret.
This book may be small in size, but it packs a hefty punch in terms of shattering personal illusions and opening up a path to personal freedom. I consider this book a must-have for anyone wanting to become more conscious and wanting freedom from personal stories and agreements that cause suffering.
How well does it work.
The author says the we have chosen to believe what we have been programmed to believe. Recognizing how difficult it is to change core beliefs, he merely makes practical suggestions about how one can view things differently. All of the rhetoric, pro and con, about this book may stimulate the intellect; however, the ultimate question to ask about new ideas is `How well do they work". These Four Agreements work. This is precisely why an open mind is so important for spiritual growth. With an open mind one can experiment with new ideas instead of sitting around debating the merits of the ideas.
If you doubt the validity of what this author says, I would invite you to call up any one of your friends and see if they can carry on a conversation for 10 minutes without engaging in character assignation. The author says they can't, and I discovered he was right.
If you are open to new ideas, this book will be beneficial to you.
If you have the courage to further question what you have been programmed to believe, I would strongly recommend the book An Encounter with a Prophet by Clyde A. Lewis. An Encounter with a Prophet enabled me to give up my programmed beliefs about God -beliefs that were causing me a good deal of disturbance. The book also provided practical suggestions that I could experiment with. Those suggestions also worked.
An Enlightening Experience
Naomi Salvarezza, English 100 4/11/00 The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz is a very special book. Don Miguel puts forth many teachings which are very enlightening. These agreements in the book are a guide to personal freedom and happiness. Don Miguel writes "Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won't be the victum of needless suffering." Don Miguel smoothly blends his native teachings with the hectic pace of the modern world. Teaching us how to live without all the useless stress and worries and how we can be clean in clear in our energy, living a positive life. Another beautiful quote from Don Miguel is "Find the courage to ask questions and express what you really want. Communicate with others clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness, drama. With just one agreement, you can completly change your life." I highly reccomend this book to anyone. It has helped me to become stronger in my spirituality and path. I know you all will find this book to be equally powerful and lovely. My thanks to the author for putting out such a good and beautiful message.
