BOOK REVIEW: The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

Type of Book:  Spiritually Enlightening

I’m always in the market for books to enhance my spirituality but since there are a million of them out there, I can never seem to decide which ones to choose.  A few years ago I saw a woman named Suzanne Whang on, “Oprah After The Show”, talking about “The Secret” and how she applied it to her life.  I was inspired by her story and never seemed to forget her.  A few months ago I decided to do a Google search to see if she had any other insightful information to share.

In another interview she recommended the book, “The Four Agreements” by Don Miguel Ruiz.  So I immediately ordered it.  It took me a while to read it, and when I started, it seemed like it was not only going to be an easy read, as it is a short book and the words are quite large, but also an interesting one.

Well it was just ok.  I mean it was definitely a quick read, and the points he made were really insightful, but you can tell (and I verified by looking into it further) that the book has been translated.  And not translated like other books are translated, it was seemingly translated word for word, so some of it comes across as hokey.  But that aside, the message was very good.

The First Agreement:  Be Impeccable With Your Word.  It basically says that speaking the truth, being kind, and never gossiping will help you lead a better life.  Not always easy, but I agree.  It also gives examples, such as how something that makes a person happy could change by the words of someone else. 

The Second Agreement:  Don’t Take Anything Personally.  Stemming from the first Agreement, this states that nothing that anyone else does is about you, so don’t take it personally.  Simple, right?

The Third Agreement:  Don’t Make Assumptions.  This is probably my favorite because I have conversations with my friends about this all the time.  You need to be clear, you need to be thorough, and you need to ask questions, to avoid a lot of unnecessary pain. 

The Fourth Agreement:  Do Your Best.  This is the one I think we all need to work on the most.  The chapter illustrates that doing more, isn’t necessarily doing your best.  Some days your best will be better than other days, but as long as it’s your best, you will lead a happy life. 

All in all the book had a great message, it began and ended with ancient teachings that spoke of the agreements and ways to relinquish unhappiness and live our lives in joy.  The book tended to be redundant in places and some of the examples seemed silly at times, but I’m attributing that to translation.  I would definitely recommend it though, a lot can be taken from it.

Next on the reading list:  The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown