Don Miguel Ruiz' Four Agreements

The psychiatrist I’ve been seeing has suggested I read a couple of different books. One of them is The Four Agreements, by Don Miguel Ruiz. I already had read that one. The book purports to be “a practical guide to personal freedom,” and puts forth some simple, almost obvious “agreements” that are so basic that most of us live our entire lives without observing them, through ignorance, not objection. I have been trying to begin to keep them in mind when making decisions about what I say and do. It isn’t always easy, but it is fairly simple and straightforward.

The agreements are:

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 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.

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.

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 circumstances, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret.

I think I am going to write to this guy and ask for permission to translate his book into French.