This was quite insightful and full of practical wisdom and ideas that really make you think.

I like that it's short and easy to read, though to be honest it does seem to repeat itself a fair bit. I think that's intentional to kind of help the message sink in, but it had the opposite effect for me and made me want to skim.

It's an accessible kind of book that is a nice easy introduction to opening the mind. It essentially teaches strategies for looking beyond the material world so that one can feel happiness no matter what situation they find themselves in. I like that idea. I appreciate what this book is trying to teach.

Like many spirituality books, however, I was a little put off by the overuse of God. I think that it kinda makes me pull away a bit because everyone has different religious interpretations and beliefs so when a book tells me I have to be thankful to God I feel slightly resentful. Can't I just be generally thankful to whomever deserves the thanks?

Also, the end section seemed a little tacked on to me, like it was just trying to make up the page count. It was still interesting information, but once you finish the section on the fourth agreement you're really just ready for the conclusion.

Overall, though, I enjoyed it; I think there is a lot of wisdom here and it's short and practical enough that even those who may not be as spiritually inclined should get something out of it.

I'd like to propose this book as required reading for the course, Life. Make four simple agreements with yourself and living becomes so much easier, so much lighter:

1. Be impeccable with your word
Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.

2. Don’t take anything personally
Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.

3. Don’t make assumptions
Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness, and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.

4. Always do your best
Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret.

What I love about this book
* It's a short, captivating read. I love the efficiency of receiving so much thought-provocation in so little time.
* The agreements are applicable to everyone, everywhere, regardless of religion, gender, age, etc.
* Stories, anecdotes and examples from various beliefs are intertwined throughout, spotlighting their common bottom lines: love, life and peace.

Possibly the most life-changing book I've ever read. No, really. See?

:)

The Four Agreements is a simple and short presentation of some very deep wisdom. In a world filled with spiritual reading material, this one's a goodie. It just made a lot of sense to me.

These lessons come from the shaman culture of Central America. "Toltec knowledge arises from the same essential unity of truth as all the sacred esoteric traditions found around the world. Though it is not a religion, it honors all the spiritual masters who have taught on the earth. While it does embrace spirit, it is most accurately described as a way of life, distinguished by the ready accessibility of happiness and love. introduction pg x. Happiness and love! Sign up the Hippie Librarian, pronto.

The book goes on to talk about how everyone has unconscious beliefs that we pick up as children. We view and experience our world through these beliefs. Most folks aren't even aware that they have them and this causes a myriad of misunderstandings and problems: "We keep searching and searching, when everything is already within us. There is no truth to find. Wherever we turn our heads, all we see is the truth, but with the agreements and beliefs we have stored in our mind, we have no eyes for this truth. We don't see the truth because we are blind. What blinds us are all those false beliefs we have in our mind." pg 17.

So, how do you cut through the fog of these beliefs to see clearly? Ruiz suggests using The Four Agreements.

The first is: "be impeccable with your word... you begin to see all the changes that can happen in your life. Changes first in the way you deal with yourself, and later in the way you deal with other people, especially those you love the most." pg 46. This includes your inner voice, the way you talk to yourself and how you narrate your reality.

Ruiz mentions that some people talk to themselves in a manner that they would find unacceptable to use with the people they care about. Change the way you speak and, Ruiz claims, your life will follow.

The second agreement is: "Whatever people do, feel, think, or say, don't take it personally. If they tell you how wonderful you are, they are not saying that because of you." pg 59 This helps you because: "When we really see other people as they are without taking it personally, we can never be hurt by what they say or do. Even if others lie to you, it is okay. They are lying to you because they are afraid. They are afraid you will discover that they are not perfect." pg 63.

The third agreement is 'don't make assumptions': "If others tell us something, we make assumptions, and if they don't tell us something we make assumptions to fulfill our need to know and to replace the need to communicate." pg 74. Now that I've been looking for this, I've caught myself assuming things all the time.

It's funny how quick hurt feelings evaporate when I just put an "assumption" label over any stories I've concocted. It has actually been world-changing for me: to realize how many stories I make up because I'm bored or confused or simply don't know what someone else is thinking. And to realize that they're not real is such a relief. Really.

Finally: "Just do your best - in any circumstance in your life. It doesn't matter if you are sick or tired, if you always do your best there is no way you can judge yourself. And if you don't judge yourself there is no way you are going to suffer from guilt, blame, and self-punishment. By always doing your best, you will break a big spell that you have been under." pg 85.

This was another big one for me. I used to get down on myself about how circumstances played out even if I had nothing to do with it. Now, I just pause and give it a quick think over, "Did I try my best?" Generally, yeah, I was trying my guts out.

And that's all I can ask of myself, really. I can't control the uncontrollable, I can only do the best I can with what I've got in front of me.

The Four Agreements may help readers live in the now and experience life as it is rather than as they've imagined it to be. At least, that's what it has done for me. Also recommended for readers who may be interested in spirituality but want a easy place to start. This one is simple and packs a big punch in a very few pages.

The author talks a bit about the history and the Toltec philosophy. I listened to the audiobook and all I can say is that I felt peace while listening to it. The Toltec wisdom seems common sense to us, but, at the same time the more he talks about it, the more I could actually reflect upon it and see the actual meaning and idea behind it. It was a really sublime moment.

This is a small book of 129 pages which I have read it many times. I suspect I will pick it up and read it again for as long as I can read. I don't have it on my bookshelf though, as I want to honor its special nature to me. In my nightstand by my bed is its home for now.

This is a book that challenges one to live up to four simple truths, and offers transformational results if one could live a life completely engaged in the four agreements. They are so concise that I can state them here. 1) Be impeccable with your word. 2) Don't take anything personally. 3) Don't make assumptions. 4) Always do your best. Simple huh? Track a day and see how many times you break an agreement (in your actions or your mind). To my constant amazement, I find myself stumbling over one or another of these agreements with some regularity. So it helps to remind myself with a yellow sticky note on my fridge, mental food for when I reach for the physical food.

I am not committed to these four agreements with a hope that I will attain some mystical state. I find the author's explanation of how our mind, our society, and importantly, our relationships work to be insightful, even though it is based on a paradigm that is completely outside my heritage of growing up in a small New England town. Understanding the Toltec dream metaphor is an essential part of realizing the deeper meaning driving our relationships within the world around us. Ruiz does a good job of helping these concepts become clearer. Especially relevant to me is the understanding of the role of judging and the resulting self-victimization that society attempts to impress on all of us.

Ruiz has helped me drop many of my limited belief structures and has opened up insights into living that are valuable to young and old souls alike. Lately, I have started to sense that some of his intricate explanations of how the dream takes control of our lives are based on a complex analysis that once reasoned through, only makes the simplicity of the four agreements more relevant to me in my daily life.

It is 2024, twenty-one years after I wrote this first review. There are only four agreements, but they are a challenge to keep, and I certainly feel my life has improved by striving to keep them actively guiding my life. It is a good read.

I was surprised. I thought I would really like this book. A friend of mine told me the basic ideas were to be impeccable with your word, don't take things personally, don't make assumptions,and always do your best. To me, these sounded great: be honest, be forgiving, give others a chance to say what they think and try your best...or so I thought!

The ideas were actually more along the lines of: don't send out poisonous words that put spells on people, don't let others poison you with their spells (pretty strange, right?), don't have expectations of others, and yes, try your best.

My husband and I were going to read this together, but by page 16 he couldn't take it anymore! I needed to read it for our book group so I continued on solo.

I found the explanations for these ideas unnecessarily described as being from black or white magic, unnecessarily loaded with examples and I felt the author was talking down to me.

Also, by far the book's biggest flaw, the information, if it hadn't been so swollen by overexplaining EVERY single concept, could have been presented in half OR LESS of the length!!!! Really, an elementary student might need all the over-simplified explanations supported by numerous examples, but even a teenager would have felt that Ruiz is beating a dead horse! (As my husband and I did by page 16!)

Another friend told me that the ideas in this book reminded her of things she's heard before and gave as an example You Are Special, a great children's book by Max Lucado. I suggest reading that instead of this book.

The book's ideas felt religious and might be okay for someone who is without religion and looking for some principles to govern their life. But, for me, as a Christian, I felt that these concepts were not only familiar but succinctly summed up in "love one another" and "try to be like Jesus."

I really didn't like the book, but I suppose that I don't have to worry about the author taking it personally! :)

I am probably the least spiritual person you'll ever meet, however, there's something about this book that makes me really love it. It's simple yet so important for what it offers. A very enjoyable read.

Nonfiction: Self-help; new age spiritualism. I am struggling with how to rate this book & give it a proper review that stayed for 10 years on the bestsellers list after it was published in 1997. This is the 15th anniversary edition. Until then, I will say this edition is beautifully packaged with lovely illustrations. The 4 agreements are all things we have read or been taught before but not so easily practiced consistently #1 Be impeccable with your Word, #2 Don't take anything personally,
#3 Don't make assumptions and #4 Always do you best. Hopefully more enlightenment to follow, about the book I mean!

Wow. Wow, this book. Well, thank you very much, don Miguel Ruiz, for unearthing the wisdom of the ancient Toltec people to bring us these four unique gems: be impeccable with your word, don't take anything personally, don't make assumptions, and always do your best. Are you sure there wasn't a fifth agreement called "treat others how you want to be treated"?

It's really not enough that he's rehashing these incredibly basic ideas and trying to pass them off as wisdom that's been kept secret for thousands of years, but he has to toss in a bunch of New Age hooey about black magic and the Judge and the Victim.

Here's one of my favorite parts: "The mind has the ability to talk to itself, but it also has the ability to hear information that is available from other realms. Sometimes you hear a voice in your mind, and you may wonder where it came from. This voice may have come from another reality in which there are living beings very similar to the human mind."

Also: "Every human is a magician, and we can either put a spell on someone with our word or we can release someone from a spell. We cast spells all the time with our opinions. An example: I see a friend and give him an opinion that just popped into my mind. I say, 'Hmm! I see that kind of color in your face in people who are going to get cancer.' If he listens to the word, and if he agrees, he will have cancer in less than one year. That is the power of the word."

So, I'm really sorry if this review puts a black magic spell on you, Mr. Ruiz. I hope you Don't Take It Personally.

دومین باری بود که این کتاب رو می خوندم و حس می کنم که اثربخشی و تاثیرگذاریش به مراتب از بار اول هم بیشتر بود
^^
5/28/2019
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به تصور من "عمل کردن" همیشه سخت ترین بخش از هر کاری هست که تصمیم گرفتیم انجامش بدیم. اینکه مثلا بدونیم ورزش کردن برای سلامتی مون مفیده و تصمیم بگیریم انجامش بدیم اما هیچ وقت عملی ش نکنیم قطعا نمی تونه هیچ کمکی بهمون بکنه. حالا همین قضیه در مورد کتاب های خود کمک یاری هم صادقه . اینکه شما یک سری مطلب رو طوطی وار مطالعه کنید، فقط به صرف اینکه کتابی رو خونده باشید ، با اینکه شما همون کتاب رو ذره ذره و با دقت بخونید و به دستورالعمل هاش عمل کنید ، زمین تا آسمون با هم فرق میکنه

کتاب چهار میثاق یکی از همین کتاب های خودکمک یاری هست. کتابی که باید به هر چهار میثاقش عمل کنید تا به خودتون کمک کنید که زندگی بهتر و روحیه ی بالاتری داشته باشید. این چهار میثاق در ابتدا خیلی ساده و ابتدایی به نظر می اومدن اما موقع عمل که می شد می دیدم که حتی برای یک روز کامل هم نمی تونم بهشون عمل کنم چه برسه برای یک عمر!!... با این حال تجربه همیشه بهم ثابت کرده که زمان حلال مشکلاتی هست که نمیشه با عجله حلشون کرد

من این چهار میثاق رو برای خودم روی چندتا کارت نوشتم و اونا رو جاهای مختلفی گذاشتم تا دائم جلوی چشمم باشن و همیشه بهم یاد آوری کنن که
با کلام خودت گناه نکن
هیچ چیز را به خودت نگیر
تصورات باطل نکن
و همواره بیشترین تلاش خودت را بکن
7/3/2018

کتاب چهار میثاق یک کتاب خودیاریه که شاید حرف جدیدی نزنه ولی از اونجایی که به سبک جدیدی بیانش می‌کنه می‌تونه اثرگذار باشه.
اوایل کتاب حالت عرفانی داره و در ادامه با چهار تا قانون مواجهیم: با کلام خود گناه نکنید، هیچ چیز را به خود نگیرید، تصورات باطل نکنید، همیشه بیشترین تلاشتان را بکنید.
با اینکه این قوانین پیش پا افتاده به نظر می‌رسن اما بخش مهمی از حال خوب یا بد ما رو می‌تونن بسازن و مثال‌های کتاب می‌تونه در عمقی به یاد سپردن و به کار بستنش موثر باشه.
شخصا این کتاب رو به مراجع‌هام توصیه خواهم کرد و به نظرم برای همه خوبه این قوانین رو با خودشون مرور کنن. امتیازم به کتاب ۳.۵ ه که به بالا گردش کردم.
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یادگاری از کتاب:
خود را در همه چیز دید - در همه موجودات بشری، در همه حیوانات، در همه درختان، در آب، در باران، در ابرها و در زمین.
...
ما نیازی به توجیه عشق نداریم؛ عشق یا هست یا نیست. عشق واقعی پذیرش دیگران است همانطور که هستند، بدون تلاش برای تغییر دادنشان.
...
هنگامی که نهایت تلاشتان را بکنید، نه بیشتر و نه کمتر، آن وقت می‌آموزید که خود را همانگونه که هستید بپذیرید.

A quick read full of wisdom, love, and light. ✨

The Four Agreements:
1. Be impeccable with your word
2. Don’t take anything personally
3. Don’t make assumptions
4. Do your best

I like how he said our words are our magic. We can either cast good spells or bad spells. Let us always choose lumos.