Don Miguel Ruiz has been declared a National Heirloom in his native Mexico; this might seem like a rather weighty honor to live up to, but as an apparent successor to Carlos Castaneda, who penned the highly influential The Teachings of Don Juan : A Yaqui Way of Knowledge. In 2018 Ruiz was listed in the list of 100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People; these plaudits are due almost entirely to The Four Agreements.
According to Ruiz, we all make "agreements" with ourselves, and with others, that ultimately end up limiting us, stunting our spiritual growth and preventing us from reaching our full potential, which is limitless. Not only does this hold us back but it also makes us dreadfully unhappy, even if we are unaware of this unhappiness. The first of the Four Agreements is to be impeccable with your word; the second, do not take anything personally (this is very difficult for the chronically over sensitive). Agreement number three tells us not to make assumptions, and finally, Agreement Four tells us to always do our best.
Ruiz's thoughts, and his writings, are aligned with the nineteenth century Higher Thought Movement popularized by Phineas Quimby , a spiritual teacher-come-sorcerer who was also a Mesmerist - mesmerism, also known as Animal Magnetism, is based upon the belief that all living things have an invisible magnetic force . He also believe that God was everywhere. Ruiz expands on this theory in The Four Agreements, urging readers to find God inside themselves as well, which is fundamental to the idea of always doing our best and striving to live in a way that represents God's presence in us all.
Like many modern inspirational authors, such as Iyana Venzant and John Grey, Ruiz became a frequent guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show, and the book was featured as one of the selections for Oprah's Book Club, which naturally catapulted its sales into the stratosphere. Because of this, Ruiz published a companion book in 2002 - a sort of Four Agreements for Dummies - and with his son Don Jose Ruiz published an additional agreement - be skeptical but learn how to listen - under the title The Fifth Agreement in 2002.
Generally considered a Toltec author, Ruiz includes a shamanistic aspect in all of his work and invokes the ancient Mexican oral traditions when teaching readers how to apply these motivational agreements. The Four Agreements was a New York Times Bestseller for over ten years and was followed by several subsequent global best-sellers including The Toltec Art of Life And Death, published in 2015. Ruiz's frantic schedule of author engagements and motivational speaking tours was dramatically cut short after he suffered a major heart attack in 2002, and since his heart transplant in 2010, he has lived a far more gentle pace of life at his family home in California.
