The Four Accords were published© in 1997 and have sold approximately 9 million copies. It has been on the New York Times bestseller list for nearly a decade. Everything we do is based on agreements we have made – agreements with ourselves, with other people, with God, with life. But the most important agreements are those we make with ourselves. Introduction – Continued • The process of “domestication of man” (p. 6). He says that children believe everything we adults tell them. Then this faith becomes a faith that “controls our whole dream of life” (p. 5). • “There is no truth to be found.

Wherever we turn our heads, everything that exists is the truth, but with the agreements and beliefs we have stored in our minds, we have no eyes for that truth” (p. 15). In addition, it speaks of the inner judge who uses the Book of the Law to judge or lack our thoughts, actions, and feelings. Then the part of us that receives judgment and feels sorry for ourselves is the victim. In part 1 of this 2-part video, we learn about the “domestication” of man and how all the rules and values of our family and society are imposed on us by a system of punishment and reward. As young children, our true nature is to love and be happy, to explore and enjoy life; we are absolutely authentic. But then we learn to be what others think we “should” be, and because it`s not acceptable for us to be who we are, we start pretending to be what we aren`t. When we are teenagers, we have learned to judge ourselves, to punish ourselves and to reward ourselves according to agreements we have never chosen.

The Four Accords help us break self-limiting agreements and replace them with agreements that bring us freedom, happiness and love. References Long, J. (1999). The Four Chords: Book Review. Near-Death Experience Research Foundation. (accessed August 1, 2011) by www.nderf.org/4AgreementsReview.htm Ruiz, M. (1997). The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom. Amber-Allen Publishing Inc.: San Rafael, CA. Ruiz Productions LLC.

(2010). (accessed August 1, 2011) by www.toltec-foundation.org Toltec Foundation (nd). About Toltec. Retrieved 1. August 2011 by www.toltec-foundation.org/aboutToltec.asp I was so happy to visit your blog today and find this oh so positive review of one of my absolute favorites in the book section. I rarely read self-help books, but this one simply meant the world. I can still recite these four chords and I often do it whenever I feel like I`m slipping into them, well, taking things personally, again, or as I do so often, using my words against myself in a very “tangible” way. 2 Principles Everything we do is based on the agreements we have entered into. In these agreements, we tell ourselves who we are, what everyone should do, what is possible, what is impossible What we have agreed to believe creates what we are experiencing. First, we need to change the way we treat ourselves before we can change the way we treat others, especially those we love. In part 2 of this 2-part video, we learn about the book of the law that governs our mind and the inner judge that makes us suffer because we can never measure ourselves against our “image of perfection.” All our normal tendencies are lost in the process of domestication, and we begin to look for what we have lost.

We seek freedom because we are no longer free; we seek happiness because we are no longer happy; we seek beauty because we no longer believe that we are beautiful. What we are looking for is our “self”. With practice, the Four Accords help us regain our “authentic self,” and this is the greatest gift we can give ourselves. Their summary was brilliant and perfect. And the points you made also struck me as a VIP. When will the world one day prevent parents from raising their children to hate themselves?! Don`t make assumptions • “We don`t perceive things as they are. We have become accustomed to dreaming without any basis in reality” (p. 65). Always give your best! • Do no less than your best and don`t try to exaggerate yourself.

Dear Captain, we are all together in this matter. Thank you for your comment. so moving. Please take it easy and there is nothing to forgive. we all arrive too late at some point. Look at agreements number 2 and maybe 3, don`t you think they can help us as much? Hmm, thank you Lucy for her scream, tell her that Miss Ella will soon get out of control. .