A little over a year ago, I was talking to someone named Jack outside of Gertrude & Alice just before hosting The Bondi Literary Salon. How often, whenever I meet someone new, would I ask Jack for a book recommendation and he would advise me to read Don Miguel Ruiz’s The Four Agreements. Fortunately, Gertrude & Alice had a copy in stock and while it took me a while to actually read it, it was worth the wait.
The book review of the four agreements
Don Miguel Ruiz, a former surgeon, returned to his mother after a near-fatal car accident and then embarked on a spiritual journey, establishing himself as one of the masterminds of Toltec wisdom – a philosophy based on unlearning the beliefs, Expectations and agreements that lead to suffering and decisions that lead to personal freedom and happiness.
And although The Four Agreements was published nearly a quarter of a century ago, it has been a bestseller since it was first published and is less than 150 pages long. It’s easy to see why readers keep coming back to this.
Essentially a guide that will help its readers change their outlook on life, Ruiz in The Four Agreements outlines four easy-to-follow ones that Ruiz claims are the foundation of a happy and peaceful life. From taking impeccably your word about nothing personally, making no assumptions, and ultimately always doing your best, although the arrangements may be simple in nature, they have the weight and substance that can really make a difference.
A short and engaging read, peppered with stories, anecdotes and examples that draw on shamanic teachings and are combined with modern knowledge to provide a guide to freedom and well-being, the common thread that runs through this book is a Life full of love and ease and peace. Thought provoking and engaging, similar to reading The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, my only regret is that I didn’t read the Four Agreements sooner.
The Four Conventions of Don Miguel Ruiz Summary
In the four agreements, Don Miguel Ruiz reveals the source of self-limiting beliefs that take away our joy and cause unnecessary suffering. Based on ancient Toltec wisdom, the Four Accords offer a powerful code of conduct that can quickly transform our lives into a new experience of freedom, true happiness and love. The four agreements are: be impeccable with your word, do not take anything personally, make no assumptions, always do your best.
Buy The Four Agreements from Bookshop.org, Book Depository, Waterstones, Amazon, or Amazon AU.
Continue reading
This podcast interview with Don Miguel Ruiz is worth a lesson.
Don Miguel Ruiz Author Bio
The tools Don Miguel shares are based on common sense and are so easily passed on that the universal message on which his teaching is based is recognized by many. Don Miguel’s message is simple, practical and life-changing, if implemented gradually.
In the Toltec tradition, a nagual leads the individual to personal freedom. Combining new discoveries with ancient wisdom, Don Miguel has dedicated his life to sharing ancient Toltec wisdom by translating it into practical concepts that promote transformation through truth and common sense.
Don Miguel Ruiz was born into a family of healers and grew up in rural Mexico. The family expected that Miguel would accept their centuries-old heritage of healing and teaching and carry on the esoteric knowledge of the Toltecs. Instead, Miguel, distracted from modern life, decided to attend medical school and become a surgeon. A near death experience changed his life. Stunned by the experience, he began an intense practice of self-exploration. He devoted himself to mastering the ancient wisdom of his ancestors, studied seriously with his mother and completed an apprenticeship with a powerful shaman in the Mexican desert. In the Toltec tradition, a nagual leads the individual to personal freedom. Don Miguel is a nagual from the Eagle Knight line and is dedicated to passing on his knowledge of the teachings of the ancient Toltecs.
More Don Miguel Ruiz books
Don Miguel Ruiz is the author of The Four Agreements, The Mastery of Love, The Four Agreements Companion Book, and The Toltec Art of Life and Death.
Do you love this post? Click here to subscribe.
This post contains affiliate links, which means I will receive a small commission at no additional cost to you when you shop through this link.