Product Description

In The Four Agreements, don Miguel Ruiz reveals the source of self-limiting agreements that rob people of joy and create needless suffering. Based on ancient Toltec wisdom, the Four Agreements offer a powerful code of conduct that can rapidly transform anyone’s life to a new experience of freedom, true happiness, and love. These agreements are deceptively simple: Be impeccable with your word (speak with integrity; say only what you mean); Don’t take anything personally (nothing others do is because of you); Don’t make assumptions (find the courage to ask questions and express what you really want); Always do your best (and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret). Peter Coyote’s resonant reading emphasizes the power in these remarkable tenets.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1163 in Books
• Published on: 1997-11
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 138 pages

Amazon.com
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 lovely little book
A friend recommended this book to me and I'm grateful that he did. This is a short, but very profound little book and came to me at just the right time in my journey. If you are not ready to accept and assimilate the information provided, it will be hard to appreciate this book fully. I know that I wouldn't have been ready until now. I have the four agreements posted on my fridge and am trying to think about them often as I go about my daily life. They are so simple to comprehend, yet it is amazing what a challenge it really can be to practice them fully.

Very basic
First of all this is a very basic book. I have big issues with page 30 right from the get go. He says the word is powerful and is a force....I beg to differ. Things are just symbols of symbols, thus twice removed from reality, and the word IS the symbol! It's the thoughts we think that give us power and give us light to see what we REALLY are, not the word. He states a familar bible phrase, "In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God,and the word is God." No.... I'm sorry, God doesn't DO words or any other "idols" He only does creation... in the form of loving, expansive thoughts. Yes we, (as children of God), are thoughts in the mind of God, and have NEVER left. Ideas leave NOT their source. He also gives a definition of sin, which I don't beleive in, and therefore can't possilbly be correct! The truth MUST be the same for eveyone! So while this book may have some good things to say, I so disagree with most of it's main premises, that it will serve no good purpose to reccommend it or reread it.

I highly recommend it
Using and applying these four agreements has improved my relationship with myself and others. I highly recommend them to anyone drawn here. The work is powerful yet simple, beautiful in its simplicity, and washes away emotional pain like the ocean sculpts the shoreline. Other of my favorite book about self-help and love is I Love You. Now What?: Falling in Love is a Mystery, Keeping It Isn't