joys.net

J. M. Alexander says:

A Trip Into Mysticism The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz & The Fifth Agreement by Don Miguel Ruiz and Don Jose Ruiz I decided to “review” or “summarize” these books together because the Fifth Agreement is very much a continuation of the first book, and in fact reiterates much of the earlier text. Both are based on the philosophy of the Toltec, ancient people of southern Mexico who were known as women and men of knowledge. Before delving into the books, I should acknowledge that I found then somewhat difficult. Although I have read a great many of what I would call “spiritual” books and wrings in the recent years, these readings, although similar, were a bit more difficult to fully digest. The author at times anticipates such problems on the part of the reader, and is indeed accurate in that regard. The Toltecs were not a race or tribe, or nation, but scientists and artists formed to explore and conserve the spiritual knowledge and practices of the “ancient ones”. They came together as masters (naguals) and students at Teotihuacan, the ancient city of pyramids outside Mexico City and known as the place where “Man Becomes God”. The Toltec recognize that some 3000 years ago a human studying to be a medicine man woke to the realization that everything is made of light and that all that exists is one living being, and that light is the messenger of life because it is alive and contains all information. He called the stars the tonal and the light between the stars the nagual, and knew what created the harmony between the two is life or intent. He saw himself in everything- in every human, every animal, every tree, in the water, the clouds and the earth. As I read the book, this seeing, this realization, is the truth, is pure love and pure light. It is this truth that we much search for. But why must we search if such truth is everywhere? We must search because we have lost the truth. When we are born devoid of language, we are the truth–our presence is a miracle. We feel and see what is, without interpretation or judgment. But, as we grow, we are what the author calls “domesticated”, just as animals are. The truth that we feel is replaced by symbols-words- that are mere illusions, that are opinions grafted onto objects and feelings. We apply our attention– the ability to discriminate and focus only on what we want to perceive- on these symbols. As children we believe what adults say, especially our parents, and our world becomes a dream, a reality built on symbols from others, not the silent feelings and observations that we experienced as infants. And this learned reality-our dream- tells us how to behave in society; what to believe and not believe; what is acceptable and not acceptable; what is good and bad; right and wrong; beautiful and ugly. We are imperfect because we do not measure up to an image of perfection that has been imposed on us by others. And we accept such law and structure by a system of reward for doing what is “right” and punishment for doing what is “wrong”. This acceptance reflects a multitude of agreements we have made with our world. We are judged and punished and then punish ourselves for bad behavior. We become victims who carry guilt for such failures, and are punished again and again whenever we are reminded, or remind ourselves of such failures. We live in a dream ruled by fear and filled with emotions of anger, jealousy, envy and hate. We must be right and prove others wrong. Our mind and our world become a fog–a mitote- a dream where a thousand people talk at once and no one understands. The author feels that, as a result, we are living in a dream of hell. We then search for the truth, for a way out of this hell. And yet, the truth is already within us, we don’t have to search, we just have to uncover what is part of us already, as it was when we were born. To escape our dream of hell, we must break the old agreements that are fear based and reclaim our personal power. We must create a new dream, our own dream- our personal dream of heaven. The author suggests four basic agreements that you must make with yourself to reclaim your own power and find a heaven on earth, a life of joy and fulfillment. The First Agreement- Be Impeccable With Your Word. The author feels that this first agreement is the most important and powerful. I noticed a few things about the wording. First, he uses the singular “word”, rather than “words”. I think perhaps this is in deference to the use of such term in the bible where John, speaking of creation, says “In the beginning was the word, and the word was God, and the word is God.” Through words you express your creative power. But he obviously means the plural, that your use of language must be impeccable…