Spiritual Teacher: Don Miguel Ruiz

An Introduction to Don Miguel Ruiz:

Don Miguel Ruiz is a renowned Mexican author, speaker, and teacher of the Toltec wisdom tradition. Born in rural Mexico, he grew up in a family of healers and shamanic practitioners, and was trained from a young age in the ancient Toltec spiritual teachings. After studying medicine for a time, he decided to follow in his family’s footsteps and become a teacher and healer himself, eventually founding the Toltec Center of Creative Intent in San Diego, California. Ruiz is best known for his bestselling book “The Four Agreements,” which has sold millions of copies worldwide and has been translated into dozens of languages. Through his teachings and writings, he seeks to empower people to live with authenticity, freedom, and joy, and to create a better world for all.

Image credit: miguelruiz.com

Favourite Don Miguel Ruiz Teachings:

Don Miguel Ruiz teaches us the four agreements:
-Be impeccable with your word
-Don’t take anything personally
-Don’t make assumptions
-Always do your best

In “The Four Agreements,” Don Miguel Ruiz distills ancient Toltec wisdom into a transformative guide that challenges our self-limiting beliefs and invites us to embrace a life of joy and freedom. This profound yet accessible work offers a powerful code of conduct that can reshape our daily interactions and experiences, leading to true happiness and love. Celebrated by the likes of Oprah Winfrey and Deepak Chopra, the book serves as a roadmap to enlightenment, encouraging readers to embody four simple to follow principles that foster peace and integrity. With clarity and insight, Ruiz empowers us to become modern-day warriors, navigating life’s complexities with grace and authenticity. As an international bestseller, “The Four Agreements” continues to resonate, inspiring countless individuals to awaken to their fullest potential.

Key Don Miguel Ruiz Takeaways:

We constantly remind ourselves of the four agreements whenever something comes up in our lives that makes us feel anxious or stressed. Most of the time we have compromised on one of the four. Maybe we have not been impeccable with our word, perhaps we have been gossiping or speaking unkindly about someone, which always leaves a sense of unease deep within us. Or perhaps we have taken something personally, forgetting that other people’s negativity is their problem, not ours. Maybe we have made an assumption about someone – it is really helpful to remember, as Don Miguel says, that we are the main character in our own story but for everyone else, we are just a supporting role – maybe even an extra in the ‘movie’ of their lives. What can feel like a personal attack on us may not have even occured to the other person at all, absorbed as they are in their own dramas and story lines. Finally, perhaps we know deep down that we did not do our best, and that we could have tried harder. Or if we did try our best, then we often find it reassuring that we couldn’t have done any better with the knowledge and understanding that we had at the time. Maybe we did our best despite extreme sleep deprivation (to all the parents out there, this is one of the most common reasons why we may have acted in a way that we feel uncomfortable with), perhaps we were simply overstretched and we had nothing left in the emotional tank to give. This agreement helps us feel a bit of compassion towards ourselves, and helps shift the perspective on others- after all, we are all doing the best that we can with the resources that we have available to us.

Where to Begin with Don Miguel Ruiz

We recommend reading Don Miguel Ruiz’s first very short book ‘The Four Agreements’ as a starting point. Each time that you feel anxious or worried, angry or some other negative emotion sit down and ask yourself which of the four agreements are you not following. Try to implement the four agreements and see how that simple shift in your thinking can help shift your feelings about the situation you find yourself in.