The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom (A Toltec Wisdom Book)

It’s such a shame I didn’t read this book back in school or childhood and read chemistry and mathematics instead!!!! Page 20, stated by Miguel Guiz: “In your whole life nobody has ever abused you more than you abused yourself” I am speechless and shedding silent tears. For this is absolutely true! For a very long term ever since my journey in the field of medicine began I have been trying to acquire a way to liberate myself from the hell the whole industry casts upon its service providers should they not measure up to what’s needed at any point——I wanted to liberate myself from that hell for probably a decade or more. I wanted a hard-boiled answer for the reason behind why, as doctors, we should be denied compassion and consideration in the process of becoming an expert. Why? This book gave me the answer and I can honestly say, I have found it! I wanted to know why, if this is what I will doing for a while now, I would need to brave for the rest of life through a career that is forever hinged against people who are ever ready to curse these very doctors at the slightest unintended mishap. This includes teachers and professors who don’t ever mind using terse, objective language to teach the students. Whatever happened to compassion????? I wanted to know how, just how I could, by any means match the whole process of being a doctor to my personality of being a silent, calm-minded, compassionate, creative individual who above all, really cares about peace. I was seeking liberation from this maze forever and ever, and Miguel answered it very handsomely! The agreements that bully my mind are right here (pointing to my head). So to repeat his revelatory words: Page 20, stated by Miguel Guiz: “In your whole life nobody has ever abused you more than you abused yourself” A personal story to explain how this book helped me. To be honest, it beautifully liberated me from a personal life issue and so many others!!! Putting this story up in public is a way of overriding the 'shame-whisper' that's right me urging me back from typing. If you want to dearly understand how this book helped me you have to read this story I am writing: My Story--> I am an Ophthalmologist. In Ophthalmology, while doing Cataract Surgery, we are required to carefully extract the cataract out and then assess if the posterior capsule of the cataracts lens is intact and thereafter proceed towards placing a human-made Lens over it. If the capsule is damaged, you are in trouble, you can't place the lens over it. This is a skill which takes every surgeon lot and lot of time to learn---months, years...I recall making a rent in the posterior capsule in a patient recently. Accidentally. In the process of making it, I had not noticed that I had made it but when I did, my teacher yelled at me like crazy inside the operation theatre righ...

I really wanted to love this book. I wanted to learn secret Toltec wisdom and have my life changed for the better forever. I didn't like this book. Not one bit. The author contradicted himself. The Agreements are just plain common sense to the point of banality. The style of writing seems to be aimed at a very young reader, repetitive and oversimplified. I stuck with it, though I was very irritated by the end, and really wish I hadn't bothered. I would never recommend this to a friend.

Wow, this is a really poorly written and conceived book. While some concepts in this book make common sense (don’t take things personally, don’t make assumptions), these things are repeated OVER and OVER with absurd examples, such as “if someone tells you that you look like you have cancer and you believe it, you will get cancer” (Please tell me I am rich, young and beautiful so I can believe you and manifest it!!). Writing style also leaves much to be desired. Don’t waste your time

The wisdom in this book has completely transformed my life, more than anything thing else I've ever read or meditated on. This is not hyperbole. The Four Agreements showed up in my suggested titles, as I've purchased books on Buddhism and meditation. It was relatively inexpensive so I thought, "why not?" Once I began the chapter on the First Agreement, I found myself resting my eyes on phrases, sentences, and truths that just stood out from the page with child-like simplicity and tremendous depth. As I started to unpack what I was learning, I cried some good tears. This happened over and over, like the wounds in my soul were beginning to heal. They were healing through my active attention and I learned how to speak to myself without being judgmental. I thought I already knew how to do this through meditation and therapy, but this book uncovers something for me that I just can't explain. I don't want to give away too much of this book, because the way everything is explained is so brilliant and builds in layers. The way it is told is important. You can feel the kind and loving intent within every word. This book is very easy to read and understand; you really don't need advanced philosophy to move mountains of the mind. I feel like Don Miguel Ruiz is right next to me, gently and lovingly help me to see the real beauty in me, the real beauty in the universe and how we are all connected. It has the same force of an elder looking you in the eyes and telling you truths that come from years and years of contemplation, experience and wisdom. The best part is that I'm learning how to be me, really me. I'm learning how to love me, not things *about* me, but the real me way down inside that doesn't have to puff up or put up guards. I'm learning to be vulnerable and relate to others with far less fear and self-doubt. What a gift. What a treasure.