four agreements by ruiz. easy read. ONE of my favorites

[seabeyond]

The Toltec Nagual (Shaman) don Miguel Ruiz offers his apprentices these four simple yet profound agreements as important tools on the path to personal freedom. Anyone can use these wonderful tools to break their self-limiting beliefs and agreements from the past and transform their lives into a new experience of freedom, true happiness, and love. These new agreements have the potential to help you move your attention from wha8t the world thinks you "should" do or be to what you know is right for you, reclaim scattered personal energy and power, and open up to a deeper intimacy in personal relationships.

Be Impeccable with your word. Our words, our thoughts, and our feelings all contribute to the creation of our reality. Our word is a two-edged sword, it can create or it can destroy. To be impeccable is to create with conscious awareness and love. The human mind is fertile ground for the seeds that are our word. Plant the seeds of love, not fear. Judging, blaming, shaming, and especially gossiping create poison in ourselves and others. This agreement alone is enough to break all of our old agreements and change the dream of our life.

Don't Take Anything Personally. Other people's reactions and opinions are simply other people's reactions and opinions. They are having their own experience and none of it has anything to do with you—it does not make you wrong, guilty, bad, unworthy, famous, loveable, or important. You only take them personally when you agree with their poison. If you are "triggered" by someone or they "push your buttons," they have touched a wounded place in you. Become aware of the emotional wound they have exposed for you, be grateful for their help, and take responsibility for your healing of your wound.

Don't Make Assumptions. Our minds have the need to "know." When we don't know, we make assumptions--they make us feel safer than not knowing. To imagine that you know what someone else is thinking is an assumption. To imagine that you can know or control the future or another person's actions is an assumption. Expectations are assumptions. In making assumptions, we create our reality without respect for another's truth or experience. To avoid assumptions, ask questions. It takes courage to trust the present moment, to allow other people to be exactly who they are, and to let life unfold according to its own plan . . . and it avoids a great deal of suffering

Always Do Your Best. Your best changes from moment to moment, sick or well, tired or rested. Remember that you are an imperfect human being. We can extend to ourselves and to others compassion for our human-ness and reverence for our divinity. There is no value to judging yourself for "failing"--and no truth to it either. When you are not impeccable, when you take something personally, or make an assumption, you are still doing your best, and you are still a beloved child of Spirit. Agree to always do your best, with love and acceptance for the imperfect divine human that you are.

[Delphinus]

1. Lovely.

Thank you for sharing.

[I Have A Dream]

2. I've seen this book many times and have been tempted to buy it.

I appreciate the synopsis of it. The first and last "agreements" are things that I already try to do. The other two are things that I feel would definitely add to the quality of both my life and of those around me if I could put them into practice in my life. Thank you for this information, seabeyond.

[seabeyond]

3. it did me a world of good

it helped me to see the thing people were saying really had nothing to do with me. that has helped immensely. it has also helped on the flip side to see that what i say is for me, really, not about other people

also it helped me to not be an enable. taking away peoples power to do for them. that we create, exactly what we live. if there is something we dont like, we are getting a pay off with it somewhere.

jsut an easy three hours read. i try to get kids to read. may be a bit beyond. but would really help in the school environment

[DemExpat]

4. This looks like something I can have at thand whenever

I start to feel angry at my hubby.....:evilgrin:
We are still wrapped up in a pushing each others' buttons dance of almost 30 years - unbelievable but true.
Since we are still together I hope this means that we both know that we are here to actually help each other learn the important lessons....

I came across these ideas first in Gerald Jampolsky's books - especially "Love is Letting go of Fear" - one of my favorite guides in the 80s.....

Thanks for sharing this.

DemEx

[Matariki]

5. simplistic

of all the books i've read in the past few years, this one has to be my least favorite. i found it to be annoyingly shallow. how many pages do you need in order to write 'always do your best', etc, and is 'advice' like that worth the price of a book or the time it takes to read it? Your 4 paragraph synopsis is about the length the book needed to be. It would have been better printed on a placemat, or wallet card or something.

my .02 on 'four agreements'.

[seabeyond]

6. really. that is just interesting. i have never heard a negative on the

book. thanks for sharing.

it certainly is simplist, hence the easy read.

maybe they werent hitting on the key points that you have to move beyond.

[lildreamer316]

7. Love this book..

It is very challenging to me. I do understand where someone upthread may find it simplistic; but in its simpleness is the challenge. Do you realize how hard it is to REALLY NOT make assumptions? EVERY day, ALL the time? Wow. The "Don't take anything Personally" one is hard to do for me also. I keep reading this and coming back to it--I see it as my continuing next step. The flashcards are helpful to me too.

Recommended.