The Four Agreements
A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom
Don Miguel Ruiz
Paintings by Nicholas Wilton

Amber-Allen Publishing
2012 / 978-1-878424-93-8
Nonfiction/ Self-Help / Inspirational
Amazon

Reviewed by Leslie Halpern

It's easy to see why Don Miguel Ruiz's pivotal book (from which a workbook, various other editions, and The Fifth Agreement were derived) lasted more than seven years on the New York Times bestseller list. This 15th Anniversary Edition of the popular personal growth book based on Toltec wisdom presents its profound message simply with enough repetition and examples to clarify without condescending to the reader. In honor of the anniversary, beautiful nature paintings by Nicholas Wilton decorate every page, along with key words and phrases lifted from the text and sprinkled throughout each chapter.

The basic premise of the book is that life is but a dream, and we have the ability to change that dream at any moment from hell to heaven or vice versa. Within that dream, we can work toward heaven by replacing our previous faulty agreements with four new agreements: be impeccable with your word; don't take anything personally; don't make assumptions; and always do your best. These four agreements take the place of earlier ideas based on our childhood wounds. For example, if a parent told us we were ugly in childhood, then we might have tacitly agreed with them and looked for reinforcement of that concept throughout our lives.

In keeping with the four agreements, we could then open our minds to a new way of thinking and behaving. Using this same example, we would use language that does not injure others or ourselves by implying ugliness. We would reframe past experiences when we felt ugly or were told we were ugly by not taking them personally. We would ask questions for clarification, rather than assuming someone meant to insult our appearance. We could do our best to take care of our bodies and our overall appearance so we can then relax and accept the way we look.

Ruiz writes about regaining personal power by replacing old agreements with the four new agreements. "Each time you break an [old] agreement, all the power you used to create it returns to you." He cautions that the process isn't easy because nearly everyone else on the planet lives according to old agreements that blind him or her to the heavenly potential here on earth. Some of Ruiz's more metaphysical Toltec beliefs, such as the universal dream and hell on earth, might scare off a few readers who dismiss the book as New Age mumbo jumbo. However, the majority of The Four Agreements is indeed a practical guide to personal freedom and fully delivers on its promise in the subtitle to provide a concrete four-step system for living a better life.