The Four Agreements

Living a spiritual life is simple. People do not spend years becoming enlightened because there are so many lessons; the lessons are few and easy to state, but they require continual practice to master. Likewise, the spiritual lessons are not new; they have been known and practiced for thousands of years in all parts of the world. This article reviews four simple lessons from the Toltec master, don Miguel Ruiz, written in his book, "The Four Agreements". They show clearly just how simple and hard spiritual practice can be.

I have written this in the same style as an earlier article I wrote on the book, "The Four Spiritual Laws of Prosperity" by Edwene Gaines. The discussion of each agreement will be preceded by a verse from the Bible and will be followed by an affirmation. Affirmations are meant to be repeated during the day to help focus the subconscious mind on a new idea or belief. Read them as if they were your own thoughts -- to reinforce existing beliefs or to aid in developing new ones that will improve your prosperity consciousness. They are written from the standpoint of someone who is already living from these principles. To get the most benefit, you should try to feel what this would feel like as you say them!

Each lesson is an agreement we make with ourselves, to give us a template for living our life with integrity and the joy that naturally comes from being authentic. They will help us uncover habits and beliefs that are unnecessarily limiting our enjoyment of life. To fully understand and use these agreements, we need to accept that our experience of the world happens within our mind. The Toltecs call it a dream; the Buddhists call it an illusion. Sure, we are sensing the world outside us, but we use that sensory input to create an experience that depends heavily upon what we believe and how we feel.

Miguel Ruiz says that you have already made many agreements, either consciously or unconsciously. These agreements define who you are, what you are able to do, and what is real. He says, "If you want to live a life of joy and fulfillment, you have to find the courage to break those agreements that are fear-based and claim your personal power"! Are you ready?

Agreement 1: Be Impeccable with your Word

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God". -- John 1:1

"Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord." - Psalms 19:14

Our word is our power, but we often do not realize it. We listen to others speak about us, and we accept what they say as truth. We say things out of anger or spite and we hurt others, not just momentarily, but for as long as they allow it, which might be a lifetime. Words plant thought seeds into our minds, and if the mind is receptive to those ideas, they grow into beliefs that control our vision of reality. They can make our lives into a heaven or hell, depending upon whether they are empowering or limiting, born of love or of fear.

Recognizing the power of words, you will want to create a consciousness of love that rejects words from others that do not come from love. You will also "guard" your own speech and silence hurtful or unloving thoughts about others before they can be spoken. In this manner, you will come to honor the power of your own words and become immune to potentially damaging words from others.

You also will be able to consider what beliefs you currently hold that have developed from words or thoughts based on fear, beliefs that no longer serve you and beliefs that limit your ability to fully express who you truly are.

To reinforce this agreement, affirm:

My nature is love; whatever is not from love is false and I will not allow it to influence my beliefs, nor will I allow it to be spoken from my lips. I practice the Golden Rule in all my conversations with others and in thoughts in my mind. I take only love and give only love.

Agreement 2: Don't Take Anything Personally

"Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me." - Psalms 51:10

When you recognize the power of words and ideas, you will understand how much your experience of reality is contained within your own mind, and you can begin to realize that we are all living in different worlds - at least our experiences of the same world can be very different. Because of that, unless you are living in a community of spiritual masters, it is likely that what anyone says about you is really a statement about themselves. It comes from their world, their "dream", not yours! So, don't take it personally!

Even the person that knows you best - YOU! - can't be trusted to always say and think the truth about you! Your thoughts reflect your current beliefs and feelings and, unless you are completely enlightened (Call me!), you are a "work in progress" and still hold beliefs and ideas that don't reflect the truth of who you are. So, take everything you hear with your ears and with your mind with a grain of salt -- it may just not be true!

When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won't be the victim of needless suffering. You won't give away your power to other people.

To reinforce this agreement, affirm:

I live my life with the values and beliefs that serve me best and I do not accept the words or actions of others as a reflection on the truth of who I am. I know that they are doing their best with the values and beliefs that they currently hold, but my happiness comes from living in integrity with my truth.

Agreement 3: Don't Make Assumptions

"Who can understand his errors? Cleanse thou me from secret faults." - Psalm 19:12

Now that you know that you and others do not live in the same "dream", it is not surprising that we have trouble communicating. Do NOT assume that your friend or partner knows what you want, just because they "know" you so well. Don't even assume that they understand exactly what you mean when you tell them something important to you (or vice versa). Find the courage to ask questions to make sure they (or you) fully understand. Be explicit in expressing 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.

To reinforce this agreement, affirm:

I speak my desires with clarity and I ask questions to ensure my understanding of others. My relationships are enhanced by clear communications.

Agreement 4: Always Do Your Best

To live in integrity with your agreements, you must commit to always do your best. Your best will come naturally if you live in the moment, releasing the past and not worrying about the future, and if you live from choice. Living from choice means to live each moment as if you chose to be here, doing what you are doing. Because the reality is that, at some level, you DID choose this moment's experience. More importantly, if you are living from choice, you are a creator, not a victim. Life doesn't happen TO you, it happens FOR you!

When you always do your best, you can have no regrets. No matter what happens, you are playing life "full out". You couldn't have done it any better! Now you may say that you are smarter and wiser now, and if you had it to do over again, you could do better. But life is not meant to be lived perfectly; after all, we came to this world to learn, to experience all of our facets, not to bask in our excellence!

To reinforce this agreement, affirm:

I live without regrets because I always do my best in each NOW moment, experiencing the life I have chosen (or, if you claim it, created)!

Final Step: Becoming Free

Most humans are not free. Not because of where they live on Earth, but because of the "prison" in their minds. To be free, you must live in integrity with your own personal truth. This is Heaven on Earth. On the other hand, living from the "dreams" of others or of the collective dream of the planet leads to the suffering that most people experience in their lives. Learn to express love as your true nature and reject fear as just a shadow of the light that we all are.

I want to leave you with a prayer of love from Miguel Ruiz:

"Thank you, Creator of the Universe, for the gift of life you have given me. Thank you for giving me everything that I have ever truly needed. Thank you for the opportunity to experience this beautiful body and wonderful mind. Thank you for living inside me with all your love, with all your pure and boundless spirit, with your warm and radiant light.

Thank you for using my words, for using my eyes, for using my heart to share your love wherever I go. I love you just the way you are, and because I am your creation, I love myself just the way I am. Help me to keep the love and the peace in my heart and to make that love a new way of life, that I may live in love the rest of my life. Amen."