More from and about
Don Miguel Ruiz
(biographical info at bottom of page)

  

Whatever life takes away from you, let it go.

   

The Four Agreements:
1. Be impeccable with your word.
2. Don’t take anything personally.
3. Don’t make assumptions.
4. Always do your best.

      
If you live in a past dream, you don't enjoy what is happening right now because you will always wish it to be different than it is. There is no time to miss anyone or anything because you are alive. Not enjoying what is happening right now is living in the past and being only half alive. This leads to self-pity, suffering and tears.
  
  
If someone is not treating you with love and respect, it is a gift if they walk away from you. If that person doesn't walk away, you will surely endure many years of suffering with him or her. Walking away may hurt for a while, but your heart will eventually heal. Then you can choose what you really want. You will find that you don't need to trust others as much as you need to trust yourself to make the right choices.
  
God is life. God is life in action. The best way to say, "I love you, God," is to live your life doing your best. The best way to say, "Thank you, God," is by letting go of the past and living in the present moment, right here and now. Whatever life takes away from you, let it go. When you surrender and let go of the past, you allow yourself to be fully alive in the moment. Letting go of the past means you can enjoy the dream that is happening right now.
   

We are so well trained that we are our own domesticator. We are an autodomesticated animal. We can now domesticate ourselves according to the same belief system we were given, and using the same system of punishment and reward. We punish ourselves when we don't follow the rules according to our belief system; we reward ourselves when we are the "good boy" or "good girl."

     

Love for yourself is the key to loving others. Love begins with you.

   

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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.

   

Find yourself and express yourself in your own particular way.
Express your love openly. Life is nothing but a dream, and if you
create your life with love, your dream becomes a masterpiece of art.

   

People are starving for love, not knowing their heart is a
magical kitchen. Open your heart. Open your magical kitchen
and refuse to walk around the world begging for love. In your
heart is all the love you need. Your heart can create any
amount of love, not just for yourself, but for the whole world.

   

    
Don Miguel Ruiz was born into a humble family with ancient traditions in rural Mexico, the youngest of 13 children. He considers himself very lucky, as this was where he learned from an early age that everything is possible, if we really want it.

His parents, Don Jose and Dona Sarita, as well as his grandfather, Don Leonardo, all believed that Miguel would continue their legacy in the centuries old Toltec tradition. Instead Don Miguel attended medical school, and became a surgeon.

For several years he practiced neurosurgery with his brothers, and he realized that what needed to be healed was not only the physical brain, but the human mind as well.

A near-fatal car accident changed the direction of Don Miguel’s life. He experienced himself as pure awareness outside of the constraints of his physical body. He realized that the Toltec wisdom of his family contained all of the tools needed to change the human mind. Don Miguel promptly returned to his mother to finish his training and he became a Shaman.

Don Miguel moved to the United States to share his wisdom, and spent the next 15 years exploring ways to heal and change the human mind. He witnessed his students struggling to quiet their minds and sought to create tools to assist them. The result of this quest was The Four Agreements®. This book contains a specific series of practical steps that, when used by anyone, can result in consistent and long-term personal transformation.

In February of 2002, Don Miguel suffered a near-fatal heart attack. The damage from the heart attack and subsequent coma left him with a heart functioning at only 16% of capacity and in constant pain. Don Miguel would not accept his doctor’s prognosis that he would be restricted to an inactive life of resting at home. He personally embodied the message he shares, by continuing to joyfully live his life, sharing his message through books, lectures and journeys. Though he was enjoying life he also knew that he was slowly dying and focused on preparing his sons to carry on his legacy.

In 2009 Don Miguel’s body began to deteriorate much more rapidly and he applied for a heart transplant. In August 2010 he was put on the transplant waiting list. On October 9th 2010, Don Miguel successfully received a heart transplant. For Don Miguel this is a new beginning and with deep gratitude and generosity he is eager to share his message with all of humanity.

In the tradition of the Toltec, a Nagual (shaman) guides an individual to personal freedom. After exploring the human mind from a Toltec as well as scientific perspective, Don Miguel has combined old wisdom with modern insights and created a new message for all mankind, based in truth and common sense. He has dedicated his life to sharing this new message through practical concepts that promote transformation. His message is simple and when implemented, even incrementally, changes lives.

Don Miguel is highly respected throughout the world. He has received numerous recognitions, including a US Air Force challenge coin engraved with The Four Agreements, and he is referenced as a National Heirloom of Mexico.

The Four Agreements®, published in 1997; was a New York Times bestseller for more than seven years and the 36th bestselling book of the decade. Other books have followed; The Mastery of Love, The Voice of Knowledge, Prayers, Beyond Fear and The Fifth Agreement, a collaboration with his son, Don Jose. All of his books are international bestsellers.

(from his website at miguelruiz.com)

  

    

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Yes, life can be mysterious and confusing--but there's much of life that's actually rather dependable and reliable.  Some principles apply to life in so many different contexts that they can truly be called universal--and learning what they are and how to approach them and use them can teach us some of the most important lessons that we've ever learned.
My doctorate is in Teaching and Learning.  I use it a lot when I teach at school, but I also do my best to apply what I've learned to the life I'm living, and to observe how others live their lives.  What makes them happy or unhappy, stressed or peaceful, selfish or generous, compassionate or arrogant?  In this book, I've done my best to pass on to you what I've learned from people in my life, writers whose works I've read, and stories that I've heard.  Perhaps these principles can be a positive part of your life, too!
Universal Principles of Living Life Fully.  Awareness of these principles can explain a lot and take much of the frustration out of the lives we lead.

           

Other people: 

Alan Watts
- Albert Einstein - Albert Schweitzer - Andy Rooney - Anne Frank
Anne Morrow Lindbergh - Anne Wilson Schaef - Annie Dillard - Anthony Robbins
Ari Kiev - Artur Rubenstein - Barbara Johnson - Benjamin Disraeli - Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Hoff - Bernie Siegel - Bertrand Russell - Betty Eadie - Booker T. Washington
Charlotte Davis Kasl
- Cheryl Richardson - Cristina Feldman - C.S. Lewis - the Dalai Lama
Dale Carnegie - Dawna MarkovaDeepak Chopra - Don Miguel Ruiz - Earl Nightingale
Elaine St. James - Eleanor Roosevelt - Elisabeth Kuebler-Ross - Ralph Waldo Emerson Emmet Fox - Frederick Buechner - George Bernard Shaw - George Santayana
George Washington Carver - Gerald Jampolsky - Harold Kushner
Harry Emerson Fosdick - Helen Keller - Henry David Thoreau - Henry James
Henry Van Dyke - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - Henry Ward Beecher - Hugh Prather
Immanuel Kant
- Iyanla Vanzant - Jack Canfield - James Allen - Jennifer James - Jim Rohn
Joan Borysenko
- Joan Chittister - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe - John Izzo John Ruskin
Joni Eareckson Tada
- Joseph M. Marshall III - Julia Cameron - Kent Nerburn
Khalil Gibran Leo Buscaglia - Leonard Jacobson - Leslie Levine - Lucinda Bassett
Lydia Maria Child - Lynn Grabhorn - Marcus Aurelius - Marianne Williamson
Martin Luther King, Jr. - Maya Angelou - Melody Beattie - Michael Goddart - Mitch Albom
Mohandas Gandhi
- Morrie Schwartz - Mother Teresa - M. Scott Peck - Nathaniel Branden
Nikos Kazantzakis
- Norman Cousins - Norman Vincent Peale - Og Mandino - Oprah Winfrey
Oriah
- Orison Swett Marden - Pau Casals - Peace Pilgrim - Phillips Brooks
Rabindranath Tagore
- Rachel Carson - Rachel Naomi Remen - Rainer Maria Rilke
Ralph Waldo Trine - Richard Bach - Richard Carlson - Robert Frost - Robert Fulghum
Robert Louis Stevenson
- Russell Baker - Sarah Ban Breathnach - Shakti Gawain
Soren Kierkegaard - Stephen Covey - Stephen C. Paul - Sue Patton Thoele - Susan L. Taylor
Sylvia Boorstein - Thich Nhat Hanh - Thomas Carlyle - Thomas Kinkade - Thomas Merton
Tom Walsh
- Victor Cherbuliez - Wayne Dyer - Wilferd A. Peterson - Willa Cather
William James - William Wordsworth - Zig Ziglar - Rhonda Byrne - Neale Donald Walsch
Carl Jung
- Desmond Tutu - Paulo Coelho - Jon Kabat-Zinn - Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Walt Whitman