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What drives those who encourage, inspire and motivate others? This is the topic we are addressing in this piece, in which we encourage readers to relate events that have prompted them to reflect, act, or create.

Don Miguel Ruiz is a world-renowned best-selling author and spiritual teacher. With his deep understanding of the nature of human reality, he has devoted the last 3 decades to bringing individuals to individual freedom.

Don Miguel Ruiz is the writer of “The Four Agreements,” which remained on the New York Times bestseller list for over the last 7 years and has been translated into 38 languages.

Don Miguel is held in high esteem across the globe. Numerous honors have been bestowed upon him, such as a designation as a National Heirloom of Mexico and a US Air Force challenge coin engraved with The Four Agreements.

Don Miguel Ruiz, his life, publications, and contributions to the fields of spirituality and social psychology will be discussed in further detail as you read on.

Miguel Angel Ruiz Macas, commonly known as Don Miguel Ruiz (born 27 August 1952), is a Mexican-origin author of neoshamanistic and Toltec spiritualist literature. Miguel Ruiz was the youngest of thirteen children born in rural Mexico. He graduated from medical school as a surgeon.

Those who follow the New Thought Movement—the ideology which emphasizes the importance of studying the past in a way to attain enlightenment in the present—are the most receptive to his work. Ruiz is included on the 2018 list of Watkins’ 100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People. Some have compared Ruiz’s work to that of Carlos Castaneda, the writer of The Teachings of Don Juan.

Brought up in rural Mexico by a nagual (shaman) grandfather and a curandera (healer) mother, he was born into a family line of healers. The family believed that Ruiz would pass forward the arcane Toltec knowledge and adopt, embrace and appreciate their centuries-old tradition of teaching and healing. Ruiz decided to go to med school to become a surgeon, despite being sidetracked by modern life.

A near-death encounter altered the course of his life. In the 1970s, he woke suddenly after falling asleep behind the wheel of his car late one night. At that moment, the automobile crashed into a concrete wall. As he dragged his two buddies to safety, Ruiz recalls feeling as if he were not physically present.

This encounter stunned him, and he started a rigorous practice of self-inquiry. He dedicated himself to mastering traditional ancestral wisdom, diligently studying with his mother, and finishing an apprenticeship with a great shamanic leader in the Mexican desert. His since-deceased grandfather proceeded to instruct him in his dreams.

Don Miguel experienced a near-fatal cardiac event in February 2002. Due to the damage caused by the cardiac arrest and ensuing coma, he now has a heart that functions at only 16 percent of capacity and is in continual discomfort. Don Miguel would not take his doctor’s prediction that he would be limited to a sedentary life of resting at home. He physically embodied the philosophy he conveys, by choosing to cheerfully live his life, spreading his philosophy through books, talks, and travels. Despite the fact that he was enjoying life, he was aware of his impending death and concentrated on preparing his children to continue on his legacy.

In 2009, Don Miguel’s health started to deteriorate considerably quicker, prompting him to seek a heart transplant. He was placed on the transplant wait list in August 2010. Don Miguel safely received a transplant on 9 October 2010. This is a fresh start for Don Miguel, and he is prepared to share his word with all of mankind out of profound gratitude and charity.

In Toltec tradition, a nagual guides a person to individual freedom. Ruiz, a nagual of the Eagle Knight lineage, is committed to imparting his understanding of the ancient Toltec teachings. He has strived for more than a decade to convey this knowledge to his followers through workshops, lectures, and pilgrimages to sacred sites around the globe.

  • The Wisdom of the Shamans. 2019
  • The Three Questions. 2018
  • The Toltec Art of Life and Death: A Story of Discovery. 2015
  • The Fifth Agreement: A Practical Guide to Self-Mastery. 2010
  • The Voice of Knowledge: A Practical Guide To Inner Peace. 2004
  • Wisdom from the Mastery of Love. 2003
  • Wisdom from the Four Agreements. 2003
  • The Circle of Fire (Toltec Wisdom). 2001
  • The Four Agreements Companion Book: Using The Four Agreements to Master the Dream of Your Life. 2000
  • The Mastery of Love: A Practical Guide to the Art of Relationship. 1999
  • The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom. 1997

Don Miguel Ruiz’s books best serve the lessons when they are read in order from his first publication to the last. Starting with The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom, which discusses the fundamental concepts of the Toltec wisdom, and moving up the ladder with The Mastery of Love: A Practical Guide to the Art of Relationship, and The Circle of Fire up next and so on.

The Four Agreements is the first and most successful book of Miguel Ruiz. It offers a practical code of life with implementable advice on how to win in life. Due to the utmost success of this book, the lessons from The Four Agreements are separately mentioned. The four agreements are:

1. Be impeccable with your word – speak with integrity.

Be as specific as possible.

Do not use the words to disparage yourself or to spread rumors about others.

Make use of your words to promote love and truth.

2. Do not take others’ actions personally; nothing they do is in response to you.

The words and actions of others are reflections of their particular reality and dream.

When you are impervious to the thoughts and acts of others, you will not suffer needlessly.

3. Do not assume things; instead, have the bravery to ask questions and convey your true desires.

Speak as plainly as possible with others in order to prevent misunderstandings, grief, and drama.

With just one agreement or commitment, you can shift your entire life.

4. Do your utmost best; your top effort will vary from time to time; it will vary with when you are in good shape and health versus when you are sick.

Do your best under all circumstances, and you will avoid self-abuse, self-judgment, and regret.

The Four Agreements: A Guide to Personal Freedom

For almost a decade, it has been a New York Times best-seller. Widely translated into 48 different languages.

In The Four Agreements, best-selling writer don Miguel Ruiz explains the origin of self-limiting ideas that deprive us of happiness and cause unnecessary pain. The Four Agreements is a strong guide to conduct rooted in ancient Toltec knowledge that can instantly transform our life into a new sense of freedom, love, and true happiness.

Don Miguel Ruiz exposes in The Four Agreements the origin of self-limiting ideas that deprive us of joy and cause unnecessary pain. The Four Agreements are a strong rule of conduct based on ancient Toltec knowledge that can instantly transform our life into a new sense of true happiness, freedom, and love. Be immaculate with your word, don’t take things personally, don’t assume things, and always give your best effort.

The Mastery of Love: A Practical Guide to the Art of Relationship

In The Mastery of Love, don Miguel Ruiz uncovers the fear-based beliefs and ideas that weaken love and contribute to misery and tragedy in our relationships. Ruiz shows how we can heal our emotional scars, rediscover the liberty and joy that are our endowment, and reestablish the atmosphere of playfulness that is essential to meaningful relationships through the use of engaging stories.

What is covered in The Mastery of Love?

  • Why domestication and the idea of perfection cause rejection of oneself 
  • The battle to control others kills most relationships over time
  • Why do we seek love from others and how to find it inside ourselves 
  • How to eventually accept and forgive ourselves and others

Happiness originates entirely from within and is the product of your love. When you realize that no one else can make you happy and that your happiness is the consequence of your love, you have achieved the greatest Toltec mastery: the Mastery of Love.

The Fifth Agreement: A Practical Guide to Self-Mastery

Don Miguel Ruiz highlighted in The Four Agreements that the process of our schooling, or domestication, can cause us to forget the innate wisdom or insight we were born with. 

During our lives, we make several agreements that are against our own best interests and cause unnecessary misery. The Four Agreements assist us in breaking these self-limiting accords and replacing them with agreements that lead to happiness, freedom, and love.

In The Fifth Agreement, don Miguel Ruiz collaborates with his son, don Jose Ruiz, to provide a new viewpoint on The Four Agreements and a potent new agreement for changing our lives into our heaven. The Fifth Agreement increases our knowledge of the authority of the Self and restores us to the original authenticity with which we were born. In this fascinating sequel to the book that has impacted the lives of millions of individuals worldwide, we are taught that the best gift we can offer ourselves is the liberty to be ourselves.

The Voice of Knowledge: A Practical Guide to Inner Peace

In The Voice of Knowledge, Miguel Ruiz tells us about a basic and straightforward reality: the only way to end our mental anguish and recover our joy in living is to stop believing in lies, especially about ourselves. Based on centuries-old Toltec wisdom, this ground-breaking book teaches us how to regain our trust in reality and our rational thinking.

Ruiz transforms our self-perception and our perception of others. Then he opens the gate to a reality that we once experienced as infants and toddlers: a reality of love, truth, and happiness.

The Toltec Art of Life and Death

The acclaimed spiritual teacher and writer of the spectacular international and New York Times bestseller book The Four Agreements introduces us to a deeper level of spiritual education and awareness through a Toltec-inspired personal journey.

Don Miguel Ruiz experienced a near-fatal cardiac arrest in 2002, which put him in a coma for 9 weeks. The Toltec Art of Life and Death is a complex and mystical account of a man’s spiritual journey while poised between this realm, the world, and the next. 

Ruiz’s spirit encounters the ideas, the people, and events that molded him as his body stays unconscious, exposing the timeless battle between life—unending truth and energy—and death—subjective knowledge and matter—in which we all are obligated to engage.

Over a decade in the making, The Toltec Art of Life and Death welcomes readers into the thoughts of a maestro of spiritual seeking, providing a personal and distinctive look at the evolution of the soul. In this conclusion of a lifetime of learning, Ruiz discloses to us the deepest workings of his unique heart and intellect and challenges us to wrestle with timeless concepts from ancient Toltec wisdom that are the core of transformation.

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