BOOK REVIEW
WHAT YOU ARE SEEING AND HEARING RIGHT NOW IS nothing but a dream. You are dreaming right now in this moment. You are dreaming with the brain awake.
According to the Toltecs, this Review is a dream. It is based on the knowledge acquired during the domestication period of my childhood days. However true this might be, different truths will remain. In his book (The Four Agreements), Don Miguel Ruiz laid bare the truth of the Toltecs, which MAY come off as an open challenge to our belief system.
The book, however, did not start off heavy-handedly in this regard. Don Miguel Ruiz rattles your conviction with arguments that slowly unfolds, until you get to Domestication and the planet dream, where you start questioning all what you have learnt (or more accurately, what you have been taught) right from the moment you were born. Or you may just wonder - like me - whether or not the Toltecs are aiming at domestication, too. Either way, you will be enlightened.
The Four Agreements reveals the source of self-limiting beliefs that rob us of joy and create needless suffering. The interesting thing about this book, however, is not in these agreements; you probably know them already. The amazing thing is that they get you nodding and hmm-ing despite that. (More like you are seeing familiar things in a different light). For anyone who's looking to lead a meaningful and happy life, these agreements may come in handy.
Human relationships are based on a one-sided/biased logic. The true notions of love, understanding, sacrifice are dampened in the noise of self-acceptance and rejection, which (according to Toltecs) make us act the way we do.
In spite of all these, common sense is needed while reading this book to avoid being domesticated. Toltecs live by their own philosophy, which is not innate. They obtained it through some form of teachings (the same way everyone else came about their belief system). This, as far as I'm concerned, may be another form of domestication.
All in all, 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.
For me, it's a 4 out of 5
THE FOUR AGREEMENTS BOOK (PDF)
THE FOUR AGREEMENTS (BOOK DETAILS)
Author: Don Miguel Ruiz
Genre: Self help
Language: English,
Series: Toltec wisdom
Number of pages: 168
Date of publication: September 14th 2001
by Amber-Allen Publishing (First published, 1997)