Monday, March 4, 2013

The Four Agreements - Don Miguel Ruiz


1. 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.

It is very important to understand this agreement, because we use the word to create a complete reality. This reality is only true for us, and not necessarily true for anybody else. Based on this agreement, our personal story could become a heaven or a hell.


2. Don’t Take Things 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.

In reality, you are no more than a secondary character in everybody else’s story, just as they are also secondary characters in your story. When they judge you, they are actually judging the secondary character in their story. They do not know you, and believe that you are what they imagine you to be. It works the same for you. When you judge them, you are only judging what you believe they are. Whether or not we are close to other people, we can never truly know them. We can never truly understand the way they think, how they feel, or how they create their own sense of reality.

3. 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.

This Agreement has to do with your personal knowledge, and the thoughts generated by this knowledge. Our thoughts are the ones in charge of making assumptions. We think we know. We think, and presume to know. Although some assumptions might be correct, most of them encourage the emotional disturbances that we use to make ourselves needlessly suffer.

4. 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 is what turns our imagination into reality. This is how we create all human civilizations. We could have thousands of ideas, but if we do not take action, these ideas will vanish and never become a reality.

By practicing The Four Agreements, we find the truth of ourselves. By transforming old habits, we can accept ourselves unconditionally. We can recover our confidence. We can rediscover our inner beauty and our self-love.


www.miguelruiz.com

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