Jorge Cruise and author of the forthcoming book “The Fifth Agreement” Don Miguel Ruiz

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The Fifth Agreement by don Miguel Ruiz & don Jose Ruiz

www.hayhouse.com Since 1997, The Four Agreements has transformed the lives of millions of people around the world with a simple but profound message. Now bestselling author don Miguel Ruiz and his son, don Jose Ruiz, collaborate with this powerful sequel The Fifth Agreement. The Four Agreements provides the foundation for breaking thousands of agreements that create needless suffering and with The Fifth Agreement you recover all the power of your authenticity, which is who you really are when you are born.

The Fifth Agreement – Brushing Aside Existing Views as a Way to Freedom and Completeness

Famed creator of The Four Agreements, don Miguel Ruiz, has released his newest book, The Fifth Agreement. What is this principle all about, and why is this such an essential doctrine?

Background of don Miguel Ruiz

Don Miguel Ruiz belongs to a clan of curanderas (healers) and was brought up in a hinterland in Mexico by a curandera mother and a nagual (master shaman) grandfather. The family believed that Miguel would take up their old legacy of healing and teaching, and promote the mystic Toltec knowledge. Instead, disturbed by modern life, Miguel chose to go to medical school.

A tragic experience changed his plans in life. Shocked by this experience, he began a complete practice of self-study. He committed himself to the full learning of the age-old ancestral wisdom, studying consistently with his mother, and finishing an apprenticeship with a powerful nagual in the Mexican desert. In the established practice of the Toltecs, a shaman helps a mortal to personal freedom. Don Miguel is a shaman from the Eagle Knight ancestry, and is dedicated to transmitting his knowledge of the principles of the ancient Toltecs. He is the author of The Four Agreements, The Mastery of Love, and The Four Agreements Companion Book. At the moment he is promoting The Fifth Agreement.

From the accounts of those who have worked with him personally, don Miguel is a very perceptive and enlivening person. When he first began teaching, he would frequent at private residences  in California and share his knowledge in Toltec. This was before he turned into a recognized sage. He was always gracious and displayed love. During his talks he would frequently say, “Don’t believe me, don’t believe anyone else, don’t believe yourself.” They were compelling words, which don Miguel has now converted into a  new masterpiece, The Fifth Agreement.

Brushing aside belief systems is the main teaching of the Toltec Path. Whenever you already have a conjecture, you no longer inquire what it really is. You perceive only what Toltecs label, the smoky mirror. You interpret what you see through colored glasses. Like for example, in Japan the number four is something that connotes death or misfortune. The word ‘shi’, which means four in Nihonggo sounds like the Nihonggo word ‘shinu’ which means death. For this perception, they eliminate the fourth floor in their establishments. Also, the number 13 is almost always considered disastrous in western cultures, and the 13^th floor is at times excluded in buildings. Each culture really interprets  certain things and events differently.

Another concrete example –  in many countries suicide is believed to cause terrifying consequences in the afterlife. This is attributed to the influence of Christian beliefs about heaven and hell. In Japan, on the other hand, the Samurai treated suicide as an honorable act. If defeated, a warrior considered suicide victory. To this day, suicide is perceived strangely in Japan.

Why is this principle crucial on a spiritual path? It is crucial because in order to attain the truth, to realize reality fairly and squarely, one must be free from old perceptions. One must change the way they  think of themselves and their surroundings in order to grow and succeed. Toltecs term the old belief systems inventory. In order to grasp reality and beyond into what Toltecs term the second attention, the world of energy, they strive to say goodbye to all inventory. This is much like interpreting the world through the eyes of an infant, or what Buddhists term ‘The Beginners Mind’.

It is not hard to understand how things such as  racial prejudice and discrimination are frequently based on existing belief systems. If a person is convinced that a race of people is  inferior or less significant, they will actually perceive things that match their views. They perceive the world through lenses colored by their usual perceptions.

Don Miguel Ruiz aspires to transform this world into a better place. To do so we must first transform our personal aspirations. We must become clear, devoid of the existing belief systems that handcuff us. This is the potency of the Fifth Agreement.