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.

Four Agreements Companion Book

A question from a subscriber to my on line course in Self Mastery,,,

Hello Gary,

I started reading The Four Agreements Companion Book yesterday and noticed that it had exercises like your Self Mastery program.  The first exercise in the book was dealing with image of perfection but I’m still about ten sessions away from your Image of Perfection session.

I am aware that the sessions in your program are in an order for a purpose, so I wasn’t sure if it would be okay to continue reading the book or not.

Should I… continue reading the book and do the book exercises with your program? or stop reading the book until I finish your program?

Thanks for your time,

Curious

Hi Curious,

The Four Agreements Companion book is great and I recommend that you read it.  However most people I’ve talked to that have attempted the exercises have gotten overwhelmed.   They see so much of their belief system so fast without first having control over their attention that they slip into a victim point of view.  That induces a feeling of overwhelm, powerlessness, and then hopelessness.   Then their inner judge kicks in and berates them for failing.   They lose motivation and close the book,,, stop the exercises…  defeated.   They end up feeling worse than when they started.

So that’s one of the reasons why I don’t start with the  Image of Perfection beliefs.  It’s also why I have people develop some other skills over their attention and beliefs before trying to change their whole belief system.  It’s like eating beef.  It’s much easier to do one bite at a time so you don’t get crushed by the whole animal.

By all means read the Four Agreements Companion Book.  But, I’d suggest doing the exercises in the Self Mastery before starting the exercises in the book.  And if you want to challenge and dissolve your Image of Perfection beliefs, (which is a necessary step to eliminating self judgments) then I suggest the using the steps in the Advanced Series of the Self Mastery program instead of the Four Agreements Companion book approach.   In the Advanced Series I not only walk you through changing the Image of Perfection beliefs, but also walk you through the different issues of resistance that come up to letting these go.

After that, you’ll be better prepared to do the exercises suggested  in the Four Agreements Companion book.

Hope that helps,

Gary

Original post at ToltecSpirit.com a Four Agreements resource for Spiritual Warriors
http://www.toltecspirit.com/2009/12/four-agreements-companion-book/

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