By Dorothy Baker-Mill
jaliscolady@yahoo.com
One of the wonderful things about Lakeside living to me is the variety of spiritual guidance available here. We have churches, a synagogue, study groups, seminars and retreats on sacred and ethical traditions from everywhere, from every age. As far as I know, however, no one at Lakeside is studying an ancient teaching that began here in our beloved Mexico: the Four Agreements of the Toltec. The Four Agreements, and the beliefs from which they arise, carry the power and character of a people born in this land. Those of us who have come to Mexico late in life can, I think, deepen our understanding of our adopted home by learning a little of the Toltec beliefs.
In the United States, at the Christ Unity Church in Sacramento, California, a church elder leads a group in studying and practicing the Four Agreements. I attended the group while living in Sacramento. This article shares some of what I learned.
Thousands of years ago a band of men and women founded a society to study the beliefs of their ancestors. These men and women were known as the Toltec and they gathered outside Mexico City in the City of Pyramids, Teotihuacan, called the place where man becomes God. Those who mastered the Toltec teachings became naguals (a Toltec word similar in meaning to shaman). Several lineages of naguals developed as the knowledge was passed from generation to generation.
Because some Toltec students misused their power and because the Spanish conquerors of Mexico suppressed indigenous beliefs, the teachings were made secret by the Toltecs; available only to those who would use them wisely. However, it was understood among the naguals that someday this wisdom would again be available to all people. That day is now. Don Miguel Ruiz, a nagual from the Eagle Knight lineage, has begun writing and speaking publicly of the Toltec teachings. Ruiz was born in rural Mexico to a family of Toltec healers. He was raised by his mother, a curandera (healer), and his grandfather, a nagual, and was expected to carry on the Toltec tradition. Instead, he was attracted to a modern lifestyle and studied medicine. He became a surgeon.
One night in the early 1970s, Dr. Ruiz had a near-death experience that shocked him into a profound re-examination of his life. He returned to his roots and dedicated himself to mastering the teachings of his ancestors.
Years later, in 1997, Ruiz’s first book on the subject was published in English and Spanish. Titled The Four Agreements, the book explains a Toltec way of life based on changing the agreements we have made with ourselves and others about who we are and how we act. The Toltec way means striving every day to replace these agreements we have learned from our families, teachers and society with four simple principles: Be impeccable with your word. Don’t take anything personally. Don’t make assumptions. Always do your best.
Don Miguel explains further each Agreement. When you are Impeccable with your word. you “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.”
To practice not taking anything personally, you must know that “Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dreams. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.
“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.
“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.”
Although they are based on the Toltec vision of the truths which underlie all sacred teachings, the Four Agreements are not a religion. They are a guide to the conduct of daily life.
The Agreements embody the Mastery of Transformation, one of the three masteries of Toltec lore. The Toltec believe that when you live in accordance with the Agreements, you transform your life into a heaven on earth.
If you find the Four Agreements as compelling and beautiful as I do and would like to know more and perhaps participate in a small study group, please call me in San Antonio Tlaycapan: 766-5333 or email me at jaliscolady@yahoo,com.
(Information and quotations about the Four Agreements and Don Miguel Ruiz are from The Four Agreements: A Toltec Book of Wisdom, The Mastery of Love and The Four Agreements Companion Book, all by Don Miguel Ruiz, all published by Amber-Allen Publishing in San Rafael, California.)