Lessons from The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

This week, we’re reading the best-selling book, “The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom.”

Below is a recap of its teachings.

The Four Agreements

1. Be Impeccable with your word.

“The human mind is like a fertile ground where seeds are continually being planted. The seeds are opinions, ideas, and concepts. You plant a seed, a thought, and it grows. The word is like a seed, and the human mind is so fertile! The only problem is that too often it is fertile for the seeds of fear. Every human mind is fertile, but only for those kinds of seeds it is prepared for. What is important is to see which kind of seeds our mind is fertile for, and to prepare it to receive the seeds of love.”

2. Don’t take anything personally.

“Nothing other people do is because of you. It is because of themselves. All people live in their own dream, in their own mind; they are in a completely different world from the one we live in. When we take something personally, we make the assumption that they know what is in our world, and we try to impose our world on their world. Even when a situation seems so personal, even if others insult you directly, it has nothing to do with you. What they say, what they do, and the opinions they give are according to the agreements they have in their own minds. Their point of view comes from all the programming they received during domestication.”

3. Don’t make assumptions.

“In any kind of relationship we can make the assumption that others know what we think, and we don’t have to say what we want. They are going to do what we want because they know us so well. If they don’t do what we want, what we assume they should do, we feel hurt and think, ‘How could you do that? You should know.’ Again, we make the assumption that the other person knows what we want. A whole drama is created because we make this assumption and then put more assumptions on top of it.”

4. Always do your best.

“Under any circumstance, always do your best, no more and no less. But keep in mind that your best is never going to be the same from one moment to the next. Everything is alive and changing all the time, so your best will sometimes be high quality, and other times it will not be as good. When you wake up refreshed and energized in the morning, your best will be better than when you are tired at night. Your best will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick, or sober as opposed to drunk. Your best will depend on whether you are feeling wonderful and happy, or upset angry or jealous…regardless of the quality, keep doing your best.”

Theory of Enchantment in podcasts this week

ToE founder Chloé Valdary sat down with Mikhaila Peterson last week to discuss the Theory of Enchantment practice, the meaning of Beyoncé’s latest visual album, “Black is King,” the power of Stoicism and meditation + so much more. Be sure to have a listen! 

Ready for an antiracism course that actually fights bigotry with love and compassion?

So what are you waiting for? Enroll in our course and tell your family and friends to enroll too!