Don Miguel Ruiz

Don Miguel Ángel Ruiz (born 1952), better known as Don Miguel Ruiz, is a Mexican author of Toltec spiritualist and neoshamanistic texts.

His work is part of the New Age movement that focuses on ancient teachings as a means to achieve spiritual enlightenment. Ruiz is listed as one of the Watkins 100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People in 2014.^[1] Some have associated Ruiz's work with Carlos Castaneda, author of The Teachings of Don Juan.

Biography

Don Miguel Ruiz was born in rural Mexico, the youngest of 13 children. He attended medical school, and became a surgeon. For several years he practiced medicine with his brothers.

A near-fatal car accident changed the direction of his life. He promptly returned to his mother to acquire greater moral understanding. He then apprenticed himself to a shaman, and eventually moved to the United States.

While the Toltec culture left no written records, Ruiz employs the word Toltec to signify a long tradition of indigenous beliefs in Mexico, such as the idea that a Nagual (shaman) guides an individual to personal freedom. After exploring the human mind from an indigenous as well as scientific perspective, Ruiz combines traditional wisdom with modern insights.

The Four Agreements, published in 1997; was a New York Times bestseller for more than seven years. Other books have followed: The Mastery of Love, The Voice of Knowledge, Prayers, Beyond Fear and The Fifth Agreement, a collaboration with his son Don José. All of his books are international bestsellers.^[2] His The Toltec Art of Life and Death will be published in late 2015.

Fluent in Spanish and English, he often lectures and leads retreats in the United States.^[3] In February 2002, Ruiz 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.^[4] He claims to have handed over an Eagle-Knight lineage^[5] to his son Don José Ruiz. On October 9, 2010, Ruiz received a heart transplant at a hospital in Los Angeles, California. He was at a retreat in Wimberley, Texas, at the Lotus Ranch when he found out that a heart was available and had to charter a plane to get back to Los Angeles.^[3]

The Four Agreements

His most famous book, The Four Agreements, was published in 1997 and has sold around 5.2 million copies in the U.S.^[6] and has been translated into 38 languages. The book advocates personal freedom from beliefs and agreements that we have made with ourselves and others that are creating limitation and unhappiness in our lives.^[7] It was featured on the Oprah television show.^[8] The Four Agreements are:

1. Be Impeccable With Your Word.
2. Don't Take Anything Personally.
3. Don't Make Assumptions.
4. Always Do Your Best.

Ruiz has received a U.S. Air Force challenge coin engraved with The Four Agreements, and he is referenced as a "National Heirloom of Mexico".^[9]

He also wrote a companion book to The Four Agreements.

Don Miguel Ruiz's son, Don Jose Ruiz, has subsequently released a sequel with his father, The Fifth Agreement, which adds a further agreement:

5. Be Skeptical but Learn to Listen.

Quotes

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Miguel Ángel Ruiz

• "Life is like dancing. If we have a big floor, many people will dance. Some will get angry when the rhythm changes. But life is changing all the time."
• "Death is not the biggest fear we have; our biggest fear is taking the risk to be alive - the risk to be alive and express what we really are..."
• "Every human is an artist. The dream of your life is to make beautiful art."
• "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..."
• "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..."
• "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..."
• "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..."^[10]

Works

• The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Wisdom (A Toltec Wisdom Book), 1997, Amber-Allen Publishing, ISBN 978-1-878424-31-0
• The Mastery of Love: A Practical Guide to the Art of Relationship (A Toltec Wisdom Book), 1999, Amber-Allen Publishing, ISBN 978-1-878424-42-6
• The Four Agreements Companion Book: Using The Four Agreements to Master the Dream of Your Life (A Toltec Wisdom Book)", 2000, Amber-Allen Publishing, ISBN 978-1-878424-48-8
• Prayers: A Communion with Our Creator (Toltec Wisdom), 2001, Amber-Allen Publishing, ISBN 978-1-878424-52-5
• Wisdom from the Four Agreements (Charming Petites), 2003, Peter Pauper Press, ISBN 0-88088-990-X
• Wisdom from the Mastery of Love (Charming Petites), 2003, Peter Pauper Press, ISBN 0-88088-425-8
• The Voice of Knowledge: A Practical Guide To Inner Peace, 2004, Amber-Allen Publishing, ISBN 978-1-878424-54-9
• The Fifth Agreement: A Practical Guide to Self-Mastery, 2010, Amber-Allen Publishing, ISBN 978-1-878424-68-6
• The Toltec Art of Life and Death: A Story of Discovery, 2015, HarperCollins, ISBN 978-0-00-814796-9

References

External links

• Toltec Teachings of Don Miguel Ruiz