Welcome.
I'm Vicki.
I'd like to share my perspective on a teaching from Don Miguel Ruiz.
His very famous book,
The Four Agreements,
Talks about how our world is made up of labels,
Concepts,
Beliefs.
We've all been programmed into thinking that we are not enough.
People,
Maybe your parents or your teachers or your communities or even peers put labels on you,
Told you what you were or were not,
And began to create concepts or beliefs that defined the rules and the boundaries of your life.
Whether these concepts that people told you about yourself are fact or not fact,
They're all an illusion.
There is no way that things must be,
But it provides you with a sense of security because it creates order out of chaos.
You agreed to a lot of these rules,
Even if you aren't responsible for them and you maybe didn't even check them.
Some of them could be useful.
Many of them are inaccurate or very unrealistic and they trap you into thinking that you are not able to accomplish what you want to accomplish or achieve what you want to achieve.
Most of them reinforce the fact that you believe you are not enough.
You're constantly falling short of some ideal situation and the result,
Whether you have made these agreements knowingly or unknowingly,
Is really the fundamental source behind suffering and striving so much in life.
What's even worse is these limiting beliefs hold you back and create a lot of suffering for you and the world around you.
So it is possible to make a change,
To re-engineer your reality and end some of this striving and suffering.
One of the things that Don McGilvory talks about in the book The Four Agreements is mastering three skills.
Awareness,
Seeing the dream and its illusions for what they truly are.
The second skill you must master is forgiveness,
Accepting the consequences of those illusions,
Forgiving yourself and forgiving others.
And finally,
The final skill to master is action,
Dissolving and shaping the dream that you do want to create.
So let's begin with awareness.
Simply understanding is the first step to freedom.
Any awareness that you have right now may fade.
Instead of rising above the dream and working on it,
You may sink back into it and be in that illusion again.
But improving your ability to maintain a heightened state of awareness,
Constantly being focused on your presence and not being sucked back into that illusion is really the true gateway to enlightenment.
Many paths can lead to a state of elevated consciousness,
Prayer,
Fasting,
Meditation,
Mindfulness.
Whatever path is good for you,
Your choice,
The importance of training your mind,
Your consciousness in a state of awakening is fundamental to creating a new life.
By having this awareness that these limiting beliefs or thoughts have been an illusion,
That leads us to the second step which is forgiveness.
Forgiveness of our own past,
Forgiveness is an opportunity to forgive others who have caused suffering.
Forgiveness causes ourselves to let go of the grips that these illusions have had on us not feeling enough.
Forgiveness is really the heart of true universal love.
Forgiveness of yourself,
Of others,
Of situations.
And really grasping this concept of true forgiveness will truly lift a weight off of your shoulder.
Being human is complicated.
You will fail to live up to your own expectations and others expectations.
Others will fail to live up to your expectations.
You will make mistakes and others will make mistakes.
We are all products of the illusions that make up our own realities.
But acknowledging that that reality is based on an illusion of the past.
When you accept your reality and you forgive yourself and others,
Then you have the opportunity to experience true enlightenment and open yourself up to creation.
That brings us to the final skill which is action.
Forgiveness unlocks the space,
The energy and the strength needed to reshape your reality because you are preventing unwanted agreements from taking root.
You are eliminating old damaging agreements that have been in place for years and you are reprogramming new agreements that will begin to eliminate that suffering.
So let's talk about these new agreements,
The actions that you can take.
The first agreement of the four agreements is be impeccable with your word.
Words are so powerful,
They're building blocks of concepts and beliefs.
Avoid creating harmful words and be extremely conservative when you're using words on yourself or on others.
Get in the habit of saying only what you mean and mean only what you say and when in doubt say nothing at all.
Be impeccable with your word.
The second agreement,
Don't pick anything personally.
Remember that the words and actions of others are the products of their own illusion and their own reality.
Acknowledge that if you shared the same reality,
You would know no better than to act or speak in the same way they are.
Armed with this awareness and knowledge,
Taking nothing personally,
It diffuses the power of words and actions that others may do or say to impact you.
So by not taking anything personally,
You're able to diffuse the power that anyone has over you.
The third agreement,
Don't make assumptions.
We know most assumptions are baseless or we agree,
We give them the weight of full agreements.
We make an assumption,
We think somebody is thinking a certain thing or we assume.
The result of these one-sided expectations is a major source of misunderstanding and suffering at all levels.
Be aware of your natural tendency to assume things about yourself.
Be aware of your tendency to assume things about others and assume things about the world around you.
Instead,
Look,
Listen without labels or judgment and have the courage to ask questions and clarify the specifics before ever making an assumption.
Remember,
If someone else fails you or if you fail yourself,
The failing isn't in them,
It's in you for making an assumption or an expectation.
So do your best to not make assumptions and be sure you're very clear about what you're thinking and what others are thinking,
Not to assume anything moving forward.
The fourth and final agreement is always do your best.
Always do the very best you can.
Live at the most you can in every moment.
But don't worry whether your best now is the same or better than your best was yesterday or a year ago or even five minutes ago.
There is no comparison.
In each moment,
Just accept that your best will change from moment to moment depending on the conditions within and around you.
Now do what you can do with what you have from where you are and ask nothing more of yourself.
Just do your best.
With these agreements,
Become aware of the agreements.
Have the discipline to change things that have been limiting your beliefs or limiting your abilities to move forward.
Beware,
Have discipline and then make change.
Utilize the four agreements in every day in every situation.
They've created such change in so many people's lives that I have no doubt that it will make a change in your life.
This is my perspective on the book The Four Agreements by Dammiguel Luis.
I'm so blessed to have the opportunity to know him and to call him a friend.
Like with any book,
This is just my perspective.
My recommendation is that you pick up the original book,
The Four Agreements.
It is better enjoyed first hand and so much if you are listening to it on a device like Audible.
There is so much power in Dammiguel Luis' voice to lift us above the fog that we may be in.
A glimpse at this beautiful blue sky and sunshine ahead of us and create the life that we want to create not being held back by anything that would limit us from the past.
And in summary,
The four agreements are be impeccable with your word.
Don't take anything personally.
Not make assumptions and always do your best.
Namaste.
