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: #1611 in Books
• Published on: 1997-11
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 138 pages

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

unique wisdom

I just finished this book today. My mentor suggested it to me after I had a serious breakdown due to coming to terms with the way my mother treated me as a child and continues to treat me and how that has affected the person I am today and my daily life. This book taught me how to start a life without those "lies" and "agreements" fed to me by my mother and how to turn everything in to love and freedom.

Love it
I have used this book over and over. It is an incredible resource and helps me to stay positive and focused no matter what life sends my way.

It's not that easy
Ruiz has come up with four principles from ancient Toltec wisdom. If one adopts these four agreements, Ruiz argues, they will help bring a sense of peace and happiness to one's life. Generally the agreements sound reasonable enough: don't take things personally, say only good things about others, etc. So far, so good. But there's some serious theoretical problems that underlie Ruiz's plan. Ruiz seems to suggest that the self can determine the majority of one's experience outside of social context. He claims that society is composed of collective dreams. Even recognizing that Ruiz is infusing dreams with more importance than western culture generally does, it still strikes me that the message here is that if one has fortified one's spirit with these four principles, nothing anyone else says or does can strongly affect you. Maybe I'm too close-minded, but I just can't buy it. We all live in social and cultural worlds, and those worlds do shape our experience, whether we like it or not.