Gaia: Living Metaphysics - Related Philosophies, Books & Authors - The 4 Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

Help Me Change The World by Don Miguel Ruiz

http://yhd52754.gaia.com — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 19:24:50 GMT

I certainly do intend to post more of Don Miguel Ruiz's work in this group. Today, I was mentioning his Mastery of Love book to someone and was getting a link for him when I discovered this new dvd by him called "Help Me Change The World". The cost is $15.95 at The Miguel Ruiz Online Store.

Peace & Blessings -
Deb

The website says this about the "Help Me Change The World" dvd -

Compiled from interview footage and archived material, this DVD (in English) is a timely and beautiful message about how we can improve the quality of life on the planet.

"The Goal of changing the world is finding an equilibrium between
generosity and gratitude - which is an expression of real love." - don Miguel Ruiz

In the YouTube link below, he talks about the Earth's metabolism.

Re: The First Agreement - Impeccability

http://yhd52754.gaia.com — Wed, 06 May 2009 17:59:39 GMT

Meenakshi,

I think the point you make is good, and it is how I live now, most of the time. Yes, I care about what the person speaking was trying to say, or meant to say, or is not saying to me but thinking. I try to listen authentically, deep listening, I believe it is called.

However, there is another layer equally valid. "What" each of us is "meant" to hear, understand, discern, grow or learn from, interpret - for reasons our soul only knows, but we can be willing to harmonize with.

Deb

Re: The First Agreement - Impeccability

http://singerseeker.gaia.com — Wed, 06 May 2009 17:58:07 GMT

Today, I'm pondering the clarity of written communication. Even if I think I'm being clear, if someone is not following what I'm saying, to that person, I am not clear and my word can baffle or hurt instead of heal. Written communication has all kinds of pitfalls that spoken words don't have (like no body language cues etc) with the mixed blessing of a greater permanence.

Thanks for this dialogue. This is very important.

Peace,

Nicole

Re: The First Agreement - Impeccability

http://Meenakshi.gaia.com — Wed, 06 May 2009 15:15:57 GMT

"As a listener, isn't there a danger in “assuming” what is being said and not being said? "

I've found that even when we think we're just listening to what's being said; we're actually listening to what we've heard, and perceived and understood. Everyone has different styles for talking and expressing. Someone may be saying something ironically or self-deprecatingly or funnily or sadly or carelessly : we have to start with knowing that we may not always really be listening.

So - yes, as you say, we should not assume what's being said; but by the same token, we should also not assume that the other person is trying to hide their true feelings. Maybe we're just not understanding or accepting what they are trying to tell us.

Re: The 4 Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

http://joy-within.gaia.com — Wed, 06 May 2009 00:19:09 GMT

Living with "don't know," allowing the possibility of the unexplained without attaching to it...I love how you handled this Deb. I enjoy the possilbilites with you.

"OK, allowing myself not to believe or disbelieve,"

Re: The 4 Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

http://yhd52754.gaia.com — Tue, 05 May 2009 23:17:47 GMT

Denise,

Yes, keeping an open mind. I don't rule out a shape shifter . . . it was as it crossed back, I thought Turkey Hen and then, realized it was no longer upright on 2 legs but suddenly long and low and seemed more a 4 legged creature to my eye/mind. Fun to have such an experience on an ordinary, boring day.

Just open minded and allowing that - I don't know what happened. I love the uncertainty of it. Did something happen? Did it not happen? Does it matter whether it did or not, does it matter what it was or wasn't? I saw something - mind, eye, ? and then, could not physically "see" it close enough to confirm what it was.

Not judging the experience as being such - a shape shifter - but it did pop into my mind, as my son and I went back in that direction later to pick Oak Galls.

Ah, when I heard Beckwith met a Tree Shapeshifter in the jungle, I was longing to meet one someday in my forest.

Deb

Re: The 4 Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

http://niecy.gaia.com — Tue, 05 May 2009 22:49:24 GMT

I also believe that the more we allow and open our minds, the more our minds eye become unclouded and can see clearer.

Re: The First Agreement - Impeccability

http://persephonethegoddess.gaia.com — Tue, 05 May 2009 19:54:13 GMT

As a listener, isn't there a danger in "assuming" what is being said and not being said? Yes, I can 'sense' when a friend doesn't want to talk about something or stays silent and doesn't answer a direct question I pose. Assuming the silence is an answer doesn't work all the time. I truly want to know and try to pull more from that friend, which can lead to them getting frustrated or clarifying their position more. I can only fill in so many blanks before it starts feeling like a one-sided conversation because I'm filling it all in for them and could be painting a completely different picture from what they really think or believe. how is that helpful to a relationship?

Re: The 4 Agreements - What Was That Dark Shape ?

http://persephonethegoddess.gaia.com — Tue, 05 May 2009 19:50:10 GMT

There is the power of suggestion, which makes sense that you heard or read something earlier in the day regarding 'apparition' so it was already in your mind and you were ready to see what you saw. The mind is a powerful thing that scientists have yet to truly understand. We only use ten percent of it. Imagine that!

Re: The 4 Agreements - What Was That Dark Shape ?

http://yhd52754.gaia.com — Tue, 05 May 2009 19:36:59 GMT

OK, allowing myself not to believe or disbelieve, after posting these additions to the thread - this happened (it just so happens, I had seen the word "apparition" this morning in the Science of Mind Text glossary). I am going to say this only, I don't know what I saw -

I was returning from an errand to my MILs log cabin next door. My 8 yr old son was playing in the yard, when I pulled into the driveway (it is 5 mins by car, longer if walking to the cabin). Down our dirt drive, in the direction of our future home, this side of the creek crossing, I saw the dark shape, of what I took to be a Turkey Hen, cross the dirt road towards the creek.

I told my son and he immediately jumped on his bike to go and see if he could catch sight of it. When I got out of the car, I saw a dark shape of indistinguishable color, between him and me, crossing back across the road, towards the field. I jumped on my bike to go and tell him that he had passed it and it was now in the field. Only, I couldn't be sure by that point, if what I saw was a Turkey Hen, a slinking domestic Cat or a Fox. Ok . . .

My son never saw anything and, we also could not spot anything moving in the tall grass, of the young tree (planted to protect the riparian buffer 6 yrs ago) scattered field. Ok . . . so, let's just say it was a Turkey, a cat or fox would not criss cross back and forth but a Turkey would. Yeah, it must have been a Turkey Hen. Still, we don't normally see them that close to the house . . . LOL

No message in all this just-for-fun gibberish (well, my vision isn't perfect but a dark shape crossing the road is not beyond my ability to see). Well, perhaps there is more, to living on this Earth, than our eyes or minds can comprehend fully.

Re: The 4 Agreements - The Mitote Ceremony

http://yhd52754.gaia.com — Tue, 05 May 2009 18:49:31 GMT

I found this on-line by searching on the word "mitote". The site is Toltec Spirit: Wisdom of the Four Agreements.

The Mitote Ceremony

The Mitote Ceremony is a Way to challenge Limiting Beliefs of Possibility
The mitote ceremony is a sacred ritual in dreaming performed through the night. It has been passed down through the various Toltec lineages as a means to transform ones personal dream. It impacts the participant on multiple dimensions.

The Intent of the Mitote

There are multiple intents woven together in this ritual designed to push and pull an individual along their transformation.

The first intent of the mitote ceremony is to become lucid in the dream state.

Each time we go to sleep, the mind passes from the waking dream to the sleeping dream. Each time that the mind passes through this dimension of dreaming, we have an opportunity to become aware that the mind is dreaming. This is often referred to as lucid dreaming. When we become aware that the mind is dreaming, we can take control of the dream. We can start to change and influence the dream. In this way the dreamer can practice changing the dream, instead of the dreamer reacting to the dream. Mastery of this aspect of dreaming has many benefits. It especially has benefits in the waking world of our daily life.
One of the easiest ways to become aware that we are dreaming is in the moment that the body falls asleep and the mind continues to dream. We can become aware in other ways, but this is one of the easiest.

During the mitote, there are multiple opportunities to take advantage of this window as we wake periodically during the night and then lay down to sleep again. The mastery of this requires a high degree of awareness.

The second intent is the breaking of patterns and routines.

Most of our actions, thoughts, and emotional responses are patterned routines. These patterns are programs that keep us repeating the same dream. We could say that our actions in this state are unconscious. We do not exercise our freewill in choosing our actions in cases where we are in a patterned reaction. This is the same behavior we often experience in a dream where things are just happening and we are just reacting. We find ourselves just doing things in the dream in reaction, and not consciously choosing an action. We could say that in this experience we are not exercising our freewill. In that place we do not even see a choice. To make a choice, one must first see a choice.

This is similar in the waking dream when we are just reacting or behaving in a patterned routine. For example, did we choose the path that we drove to work. Or, did we just take the same route that we usually take. Our personal power is invested in the these patterned routines. In habits, we lose our opportunity for choice. By breaking the routine we can recover the personal power that we have invested in it. When we have recovered the personal power, we do not have to react. The routine no longer dictates our behavior, and instead we can choose.

One of the fastest ways to recover this personal power is to break up the patterns that routinely run our life. One of the biggest of these is the habit of sleep. We have a lot of agreements about sleep. We believe them but they are not necessarily true. We can change them. When we change them, we can recover the investment of our personal power in that belief. In the mitote, we consciously intend to break up the sleep pattern and recover the power we have put in agreements about sleep.

When you practice this aspect in the mitote you can become much more aware of other places where our personal power is invested in routines that don’t serve ourselves or others. Once you realize that you can break up the patterns around sleep, it gives us more confidence and personal power to break other patterns in our life that we want to change.

The third intent is the energetic work of an experienced guide in the dream state.

We are a multidimensional being. We perceive on many dimensions. However, from the time we were very young the world trained our attention to focus on a limited number of these dimensions. In the dream state our awareness is still working to evolve whether we are conscious of our dreams or not. During a mitote an experienced guide can work with individuals in the dream state towards this transformation. This evolution happens in realms that we are often not consciously aware of.

The general format of the mitote ceremony:

The mitote is done with a group and should be lead by an experienced guide. Each one will take on its individual characteristics but follows a similar outline. If possible, and convenient, the group gathers for a ceremony at sunset to connect themselves with the light of the sun. Afterwards, the group will gather to perform the dreaming ceremony.

The group will generally break up into smaller groups which will be assigned a sequential order. The first group will hold the energy for the others through meditation and/or chanting, generally in the center of the room.
The rest of the groups will lay down to dream and sleep. At intervals through
out the night, the smaller group will wake the next group. Each group will take
a turn meditating and consciously holding the larger group intent. This
continues until sunrise.

There are not guaranteed results from a mitote ceremony. Each persons experience will be different according to his or her point of view. Some people have had extraordinary mitote experiences and remember many dreams, only to remember nothing in their next mitote. One of the lessons I have learned in the mitote ritual is to not have expectations. We set our intent, but don’t expect that things will turn out as we have intended. We must leave room for Spirit to intervene and co-create with us in Its divine way.

(deb's note - I have no idea what Don Miguel Ruiz would say about it. I just thought it would fit in here, since we were talking about the mitote.)

Re: The 4 Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

http://yhd52754.gaia.com — Tue, 05 May 2009 18:43:12 GMT

Continuing comments from the Companion Book from where we left off here -

"What happened to the other ninety-six units of power? Let's look at the way we spend energy"

In The Four Agreements, we talked about this example: Imagine you awake one morning with a lot of energy. You can hardly wait to do a lot of things. You go to eat your breakfast, and for whatever reason, you have a big fight with your spouse. All these angry words are said, all these painful emotions come out, and after the fight, all you want to do is go to bed and sleep. The fight drains all your energy.

To save energy you need to change your routines, change those agreements, and no longer react with those emotions. If your spouse wants to fight, and you don't fight, then you still have that energy. You just eat your breakfast quickly, and leave the room. It's up to you whether you will allow yourself to spend all your energy on your emotions. You don't have to be the victim of your emotions.

The emotions that drain you are the emotions that come from fear; the emotions that give you more energy are those that come from love.

Most people spend all their energy on personal importance, on defending their image, on defending their opinions and what they believe. They spend a lot of energy trying to be right and making everybody else wrong. This nonsense behavior is funny when you see it from the outside, but it becomes a big drama when you are in the middle of it. That drama drains our energy. To believe what we believe, to keep all these agreements alive, we have no energy left. Our power of creation, the word, is dissipated by the big mitote in our mind, by all those conflicting agreements we create. The result is that we feel powerless.

As we have said, the Book of Law, even though it isn't physical, creates a strong and rigid structure made by agreements, and we call it a belief system. (We will look at that structure, when next we comment from this Companion Book).

(From the Abbreviated Glossary -
Mitote
The Toltec use this term to refer to the condition of the human mind. The mitote can be compared to a huge marketplace where thousands of people are talking at the same time, and nobody understands each other. The mitote is also like a fog that blinds us from seeing the truth.)

Re: The 4 Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

http://tlcoriginals.gaia.com — Tue, 05 May 2009 02:35:04 GMT

I too enjoyed this book...thnx for posting this thread Deb, and Lars for the link to TT...always, star...

Re: The 4 Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

http://fastdarter.gaia.com — Tue, 05 May 2009 02:25:14 GMT

Interesting how this keeps rising to the surface. Something tells me to post it here. Perhaps It should go someplace else but I'll go with my institution anyway. It's a long interview with Don Miguel Ruiz Jr.

The Toltec Teachings

Running with my eyes closed towards unconditional love.

Re: The 4 Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

http://yhd52754.gaia.com — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 17:43:58 GMT

I really want to get back into this thread. Lots of conversations going on within me, and with others, about Unconditional Love. There are multiple threads winding around and through me at this time, blending the Rev Michael Bernard Beckwith with Don Miguel Ruiz. It is like New Year's for me and I am doing the work of visioning what my life is to be like going forward.

This concept that has been occupying my thoughts regarding Unconditional Love, is a concept which I read some discussion about, in another book by Ruiz "The Mastery of Love". It also came up in a Life Visioning Meditation I did for myself with Beckwith's audio CD during my daily hike last Sunday. It can be sad to contemplate, for unconditional love can be hard to identify the existence of, if looking to external persons for proof, but something came out of a discussion of such with Lars/Fast Dart and a video he posted over at FB, which actually he had sent me before here at Gaia, knowing how much I appreciate Don Miguel Ruiz's works.

"And I loved myself completely and unconditionally"

This jumped out at me from this video. . . oh, it's such rich, gorgeous music too, to go along with the beauty of that fable which Don Ruiz tells.

Deb

Re: The 4 Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

http://Netherlands.gaia.com — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 22:57:48 GMT

From the newsletter of Don Miguel Ruiz for anyone interested and living in the vicinity:

Re: The 4 Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

http://yhd52754.gaia.com — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 05:37:51 GMT

Meenakshi and Lars, excellent conversation on conversations and great points, concepts, etc. All of it.

Persephonehalliwell, yes, it is sad and true what you say. Part of unfolding and blooming spiritually is to gain the confidence to be authentic. When one is authentic, they can speak truth but do not harm. Sometimes, the other or oneself feels " hurt " by the truth. If it is the truth, it buries deep within and is contemplated over time, taking root, affecting comprehension and perspective, until it begins to express in the visible world of the person, bearing a beautiful fruit.

We owe our life our truth. That is what we came here for. When we all realize that, the Earth will be a paradise and humanity peace and love. Each should be their individual authentic self - truthfully.

Thank you, Persephonehalliwell, Meenakshi and Lars, for making this a point of notice.

Deb

Re: The 4 Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

http://Meenakshi.gaia.com — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 23:45:29 GMT

You've quoted my favorite verse of Tao, Lars. AND given a great link. Though it's meant to be for therapists; I wonder if we can each adopt a therapists' ear for listening and tongue for speaking?

Is that what is required for good communication?

"Listen carefully, ask questions to show that you are genuinely interested and you'll be amazed at the spin-offs from becoming a good question asker and a good listener. People appreciate, respect and value others who are great listeners."

From the Tao of communication

Re: The First Agreement - Impeccability

http://fastdarter.gaia.com — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 23:03:56 GMT

Most excellent Meenakshi,

The Yin and Yang of Communication.

Something mysteriously formed,
Born before heaven and earth.
In the silence and the void,
Standing alone and unchanging,
Ever present and in motion.
Perhaps it is the mother of ten
thousand things.
I do not know its name.

Call it Tao.

Tao Te Ching

Re: The First Agreement - Impeccability

http://Meenakshi.gaia.com — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 13:23:33 GMT

Perhaps this might help, perspephonehalliwell:

There are two parts to everything that is spoken: the speaker and the listener.

As a listener: when we know that the other cannot speak clearly out of fear; we can fill in the gap by listening with our own inner ear. Not just to the words, but to what is actually being conveyed by the other person.

As a speaker: we can work at overcoming fear by bringing to mind that inner light within us. This brings clarity to our speech and our communication.