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The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz Book Review

06.21.21
The Four Agreements Book Review

A little over a year ago, I got chatting to someone called Jack outside Gertrude & Alice, just prior to hosting The Bondi Literary Salon. As I often do when I meet someone new, I asked Jack for a book recommendation, and he told me to read The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. Happily, Gertrude & Alice had a copy in stock, and while it took me a while to get around to actually reading it, it was well worth the wait.

The Four Agreements Book Review

A former surgeon, after suffering a near-fatal car accident, Don Miguel Ruiz returned to live with his mother and subsequently embarked on a spiritual journey that saw him establish himself as one of the thought leaders of Toltec wisdom – a philosophy grounded in unlearning the beliefs, expectations, and agreements that lead to suffering and in making choices that lead to personal freedom and happiness.

And while The Four Agreements was published almost quarter of a century ago, it’s been a best-seller since it first came out, and less than 150 pages, it’s easy to see why readers return to it time and time again.

Essentially a guide that will help its readers change their outlooks on life, in The Four Agreements, Ruiz outlines four simple to follow, which Ruiz claims form the basis of a happy and peaceful existence. From being impeccable with your word, to not taking anything personally, to not making assumptions, and, last of all, always doing your best, while the agreements may be simple in nature, they carry the sort of weight and substance that can really make a difference.

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A short and captivating read, peppered with stories, anecdotes and examples that draw on shamanic teachings and are combines with modern insights to provide a guide to freedom and wellbeing, the common thread running through this book is to life a life filled with love, ease and peace. Thought-provoking and stirring, much like when I read The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, my only regret when it comes to The Four Agreements is that I didn’t read it sooner.

The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz Summary

In The Four Agreements, Don Miguel Ruiz reveals the source of self-limiting beliefs that rob us of joy and create needless suffering. Based on ancient Toltec wisdom, the Four Agreements offer a powerful code of conduct that can rapidly transform our lives to a new experience of freedom, true happiness, and love. The Four Agreements are: Be Impeccable With Your Word, Don’t Take Anything Personally, Don’t Make Assumptions, Always Do Your Best.

Buy The Four Agreements from Bookshop.org, Book Depository, Waterstones, Amazon or Amazon AU.

Further reading

This podcast interview with Don Miguel Ruiz is well worth a lesson.

Don Miguel Ruiz Author Bio

The tools shared by don Miguel are based on common sense and shared with such simplicity, that the universal message underlying his teaching is recognized by many. don Miguel’s message is simple, practical and when implemented, even incrementally, changes lives.

In the tradition of the Toltec, a Nagual guides an individual to personal freedom. Combining new insights with old wisdom, don Miguel has dedicated his life to sharing the ancient Toltec wisdom by translating it into practical concepts that promote transformation through truth and common sense.

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Don Miguel Ruiz was born into a family of healers, and raised in rural Mexico. The family anticipated that Miguel would embrace their centuries-old legacy of healing and teaching, and carry forward the esoteric Toltec knowledge. Instead, distracted by modern life, Miguel chose to attend medical school and become a surgeon. A near-death experience changed his life. Stunned by this experience, he began an intensive practice of self-inquiry. He devoted himself to the mastery of the ancient ancestral wisdom, studying earnestly with his mother, and completing an apprenticeship with a powerful shaman in the Mexican desert. In the tradition of the Toltecs, a nagual guides an individual to personal freedom. Don Miguel is a nagual from the Eagle Knight lineage, and is dedicated to sharing 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.

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