The Four and Fifth Agreements: Don Miguel Ruiz's Philosophy, History and Vision

The Four Agreements Explained

The Four Agreements, published in 1997, has transformed the lives of millions of people around the world with its simple yet profound message. Don Miguel Ruiz reveals the source of self-limiting beliefs that rob us of joy and create needless suffering through these agreements. Based on ancient Toltec wisdom, the Four Agreements offer a powerful code of conduct that can rapidly transform our lives to a new experience of freedom, true happiness, and love. The first agreement is to "Be Impeccable With Your Word," which means speaking with integrity and saying only what you mean. This agreement emphasizes the importance of speaking with integrity and using our words to spread positivity, love, and truth. The second agreement, "Don't Take Anything Personally," teaches that nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream, and when you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won't be the victim of needless suffering. The third agreement is "Don't Make Assumptions," which encourages finding the courage to ask questions and express what you really want. This agreement promotes open communication and the courage to ask questions and express our true feelings. The fourth agreement, "Always Do Your Best," acknowledges that your best will change from moment to moment and will be different when you are tired as opposed to well-rested. Under any circumstance, simply doing your best helps you avoid self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret.

The Impact of the Four Agreements

The Four Agreements provides the foundation for breaking thousands of agreements that create needless suffering. These agreements are essentially a code of conduct based on Toltec teachings by which to live your life. The tools shared by Don Miguel are based on common sense and shared with such simplicity that the universal message underlying his teaching is recognized by many. Don Miguel's message is simple and practical, and when implemented, even incrementally, changes lives. The Four Agreements has been a New York Times bestseller for over a decade and is published in 52 languages worldwide. In fact, it has sold over 15 million copies in the United States alone. This remarkable success demonstrates the universality and appeal of these principles across diverse cultures and backgrounds. The Four Agreements has been credited with helping individuals transform their personal lives and workplace cultures by enhancing communication, improving collaboration, and increasing fulfillment.

The Fifth Agreement Explained

In The Fifth Agreement, Don Miguel Ruiz joins his son, Don Jose Ruiz, to offer a fresh perspective on The Four Agreements and a powerful new agreement for transforming our lives into our personal heaven. The Fifth Agreement takes us to a deeper level of awareness of the power of the Self and returns us to the authenticity we were born with. The fifth agreement is to "Be Skeptical, But Learn to Listen". This agreement teaches you not to believe yourself or anybody else unconditionally. Instead, use the power of doubt to question everything you hear: Is it really the truth?. Listen to the intent behind words, and you will understand the real message. Being skeptical is masterful because it uses the power of doubt to discern the truth. When you follow this agreement along with the others, it leads to the complete acceptance of yourself just the way you are, and the complete acceptance of everybody else just the way they are.

The Relationship Between the Four and Fifth Agreements

The Fifth Agreement complements and enhances the first four agreements, creating a more comprehensive framework for personal growth. After reading the Four Agreements, many readers find the Fifth Agreement helps them delve deeper into each of the agreements and see how they fit together. The fifth agreement of being skeptical but learning to listen brings a new dimension to the practice of the first four. While the Four Agreements help break self-limiting agreements and replace them with agreements that bring personal freedom, happiness, and love, the Fifth Agreement takes this process further by encouraging critical thinking about all information we receive. It's worth noting that some readers have criticized The Fifth Agreement for repeating much of the material from The Four Agreements before introducing the fifth principle. However, many find value in this repetition as it reinforces important concepts and provides a foundation for the new material.

Don Miguel Ruiz's Background and Journey

Don Miguel Ruiz was born in Tijuana, Mexico, on August 27, 1952. He was the youngest of thirteen children, born into a humble family with ancient traditions in rural Mexico. His parents, Don Jose and Dona Sarita, as well as his grandfather, Don Leonardo, all believed that Miguel would continue their legacy in the centuries-old Toltec tradition. Instead of following the family's spiritual path immediately, Don Miguel attended medical school and became a surgeon. For several years, he practiced neurosurgery with his brothers, eventually realizing that what needed to be healed was not only the physical brain but the human mind as well. A near-fatal car accident changed the direction of Don Miguel's life. During this experience, he experienced himself as pure awareness outside of the constraints of his physical body and realized that the Toltec wisdom of his family contained all of the tools needed to change the human mind. Following this profound experience, Don Miguel promptly returned to his mother to finish his training and became a Shaman.

From Medicine to Spirituality

The transformation from medical doctor to spiritual teacher was a significant turning point in Don Miguel Ruiz's life. After his brush with death, Ruiz left surgery behind and started writing about the questions and uncertainties that this glimpse of mortality made him contemplate. This shift represented not just a career change but a profound reorientation of his life's purpose. Don Miguel moved to the United States to share his wisdom and spent the next 15 years exploring ways to heal and change the human mind. He witnessed his students struggling to quiet their minds and sought to create tools to assist them. The result of this quest was The Four Agreements, containing a specific series of practical steps that, when used by anyone, can result in consistent and long-term personal transformation. Combining Toltec mythology and scientific perspectives, Don Miguel has been able to merge ancient wisdom with modern physics and practical common sense, forging a new philosophy for seekers of truth and personal authenticity.

Health Challenges and Continued Impact

In February 2002, Don Miguel suffered a near-fatal heart attack. The damage from the heart attack and subsequent coma left him with a heart functioning at only 16% of capacity and in constant pain. Despite his doctor's prognosis that he would be restricted to an inactive life of resting at home, Don Miguel personally embodied the message he shares by continuing to joyfully live his life, sharing his message through books, lectures, and journeys. Though he was enjoying life, he also knew that he was slowly dying and focused on preparing his sons to carry on his legacy. In 2009, Don Miguel's body began to deteriorate much more rapidly, and he applied for a heart transplant. On October 9, 2010, Don Miguel successfully received a heart transplant, which he viewed as a new beginning. With deep gratitude and generosity, he became eager to share his message with all of humanity. Throughout these health challenges, Don Miguel continued to embody the principles he taught, demonstrating resilience and commitment to his mission of sharing Toltec wisdom with the world.

The Toltec Tradition and Its Influence

In the tradition of the Toltec, a Nagual (shaman) guides an individual to personal freedom. After exploring the human mind from both Toltec and scientific perspectives, Don Miguel combined old wisdom with modern insights to create a new message for all mankind, based on truth and common sense. The Toltec were "people of knowledge" - scientists and artists who created a society to explore and conserve the traditional spiritual knowledge and practices of their ancestors. They viewed science and spirit as part of the same entity, believing that all energy - material or ethereal - is derived from and governed by the universe. Toltec wisdom 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. This ancient wisdom provides the foundation for Don Miguel's teachings and has resonated with millions of people seeking authentic personal freedom.

Don Miguel Ruiz's Vision and Philosophy

Don Miguel Ruiz's vision centers on helping people achieve personal freedom through truth and common sense. In his teachings, he reveals how the process of our education, or "domestication," can make us forget the wisdom we were born with. Throughout our lives, we make many agreements that go against ourselves and create needless suffering. According to Ruiz, the real conflict that exists in humanity is not between good and evil but between truth and lies. Believing in lies creates all of the injustice, violence, abuse, and suffering not only in society but also in the individual. The voice of knowledge is the voice in our mind that is always talking—the voice that comes from all that we know—but that voice is usually lying because we have learned so many lies, mainly about ourselves. His philosophy suggests that we live in a dream of our own creation, influenced by the agreements we've made with ourselves and others throughout our lives.

The Power of Awareness and Authenticity

For Don Miguel Ruiz, awareness is the key to personal transformation. Just to be aware of all the lies that exist is a good start. When we become aware that all these lies exist, then we become aware that truth also exists. Ruiz teaches that we are born perfect and will die perfect, but the problem is that we create a character in our story that we pretend to be. We search for an image of perfection that isn't real—it's not truth; it's the biggest lie. We will never be perfect from that point of view because that image is just an image—it is not real. His philosophy encourages individuals to become completely authentic, without doubt. When this happens, all the knowledge that lives in our mind becomes just knowledge, just a tool used for communication with others. Knowledge then becomes simply a way to communicate and understand one another, a way to create agreements that can be used to create a more beautiful society.

The Underlying Motivation Behind the Agreements

The motivation behind Don Miguel Ruiz's writing of the Four and Five Agreements stems from his desire to help people break free from self-limiting beliefs and find personal freedom. After his near-death experience, Ruiz gained profound insights into the human condition and realized that many of our problems stem from the agreements we make with ourselves and others. The agreements we make throughout our lives often lead to suffering because they are based on fear rather than love. Ruiz saw that people were living in what he calls a "dream"—a personal reality constructed of beliefs and agreements that may not reflect truth. The Four Agreements provide a foundation for breaking thousands of agreements that create needless suffering, while the Fifth Agreement helps recover all the power of your authenticity, which is who you really are when you are born. By practicing these agreements, individuals can transform their lives from a "living hell" centered on judgment, abuse, and fear to a "heaven on Earth" centered on love and self-acceptance.

Love and Respect as Central Themes

At the core of Don Miguel Ruiz's philosophy is the concept of love and respect. He believes that respect is one of the greatest expressions of love. Respect is an act of love that begins with yourself and continues with everybody else. We cannot respect anybody else if we don't respect ourselves. Once we respect the main character in our story, which is what we believe about ourselves, then it becomes easy to respect everyone else's point of view. Everybody has the right to believe whatever they want to believe and to create their personal story the way they want. Ruiz teaches that we don't have the right to impose our point of view on anybody, but we have the right to share our point of view with others. They can take whatever they want to take and reject whatever they don't want. This approach to relationships based on respect and acceptance is fundamental to achieving personal freedom and happiness.

The Transformative Impact of the Agreements

Practicing the Five Agreements leads to respecting everything in creation. You are respecting your dream, and you are respecting everybody else's dream. When you use these tools, your effort is really for everyone, because your joy, happiness, peace, and heaven are contagious. When you are happy, the people around you are happy too, and it inspires them to change their own world. The agreements help individuals break free from societal conditioning and return to their authentic selves. By practicing the agreements, one can heal emotional wounds, recover the freedom and joy that are our birthright, and restore the spirit of playfulness that is vital to loving relationships. Don Miguel Ruiz's teachings have resonated with millions of people because they offer practical steps to address universal human struggles with fear, judgment, and self-doubt. The simplicity and power of these agreements have made them accessible to people from diverse backgrounds and belief systems.

The Legacy of Don Miguel Ruiz

Don Miguel Ruiz has dedicated his life to sharing his message through practical concepts that promote transformation. His message is simple, and when implemented, even incrementally, changes lives. He is highly respected throughout the world and has received numerous recognitions, including a US Air Force challenge coin engraved with The Four Agreements and is referenced as a National Heirloom of Mexico. Beyond The Four Agreements, Ruiz has authored numerous other influential works, including The Mastery of Love, The Voice of Knowledge, Prayers, Beyond Fear, and The Fifth Agreement. His books have been international bestsellers, with The Four Agreements being the 36th bestselling book of the decade. Don Miguel currently resides in the United States, where he continues to share his wisdom through books, lectures, and journeys. His sons, including Don Jose Ruiz, have joined him in carrying forward the Toltec teachings, ensuring that this wisdom continues to impact future generations. Through his work, Don Miguel Ruiz has created a lasting legacy that continues to guide countless individuals toward personal freedom and authentic living.

The Universal Appeal of the Agreements

The universal appeal of the Four and Five Agreements lies in their simplicity and relevance across cultural boundaries. The agreements presented in Don Miguel Ruiz's books transcend cultural and temporal boundaries, making them applicable and relevant to individuals from all walks of life. The agreements serve as a masterful guide for anyone seeking authenticity, freedom, and joy. They provide a blueprint for crafting a life aligned with one's true self, free from the constraints of societal expectations and self-imposed limitations. Whether readers are new to the world of self-help literature or have been on a continuous journey of self-discovery, these agreements invite introspection and reflection. They prompt readers to consider how the agreements can be woven into daily life, fostering personal growth and positive transformation. The enduring popularity of Ruiz's books, particularly The Four Agreements, demonstrates how these simple principles resonate with people's deep desire for freedom and authentic living.

Conclusion: The Enduring Impact of Don Miguel Ruiz's Teachings

Don Miguel Ruiz's Four and Five Agreements continue to transform lives through their simple yet profound wisdom. Based on ancient Toltec knowledge combined with modern insights, these agreements provide practical steps for breaking free from self-limiting beliefs and creating lives of freedom, happiness, and love. Don Miguel's journey from neurosurgeon to spiritual teacher following a near-death experience led him to develop these principles as tools for personal transformation. His vision of helping people achieve personal freedom through awareness and authenticity has resonated with millions around the world. At the core of his teachings is the understanding that many of our struggles come from the false agreements we've made throughout our lives, and by adopting these new agreements, we can return to our authentic selves. The Four and Five Agreements—Be Impeccable With Your Word, Don't Take Anything Personally, Don't Make Assumptions, Always Do Your Best, and Be Skeptical But Learn to Listen—have proven to be powerful tools for transformation that continue to impact individuals, relationships, and even workplace cultures around the world. As Don Miguel Ruiz himself has said, "By practicing the Five Agreements, what you are really doing is respecting everything in creation," creating a ripple effect of positive change that extends far beyond the individual