Toltec wisdom resonates in today’s world
Recently, I was gifted the use of a book to read on Native American wisdom by my Sylva dentist Dr. David McGuire. Thousands of years ago, the Toltec were known throughout southern Mexico as “women and men of knowledge” and who formed a society to explore and conserve the spiritual knowledge and practices of the ancient ones.
In the book Don Miguel Ruiz, a nagual (a spirit guide or wisdom keeper) from the Eagle Knight lineage of the Toltec, has been guided to share with us the powerful teachings of the Toltec.
Almost ironically, his book “The Four Agreements: Wisdom Book” (Amber-Allen Publishing, 1997, 140 pages.) begins in the first chapter with an epigram from Beatles songwriter John Lennon. “Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all your see.” The early chapters of the book introduce the premise of the book’s title and provide the reader with Ruiz’s definitions for what he calls “The Four Agreements,” which are in succession: “be impeccable with your word; don’t take anything personally; don’t make assumptions; always do your best” — which he describes in great detail throughout the book. “You need a very strong will in order to adopt The Four Agreements — but if you can begin to live your life with these agreements, the transformation in your life will be amazing,” he says.
He begins the early chapters by talking about the importance of dreaming. “Dreaming is the main function of the mind and you are dreaming twenty four hours a day,” he writes. How to control the dreaming and process the thoughts of the mind is the key, he goes on to say, rather than being confused and “in a fog.” So, in order to convey to you what he’s writing about and how he qualifies his message(s), and instead of trying to interpret Ruiz’s wisdom here, I’m going to share some of the key quotes from the book so you’ll get what he’s “getting at” firsthand.
1. Be Impeccable With Your Word: “Through your word you express your creative power. What you dream, what you feel, and what you really are, will all be manifested through the word. The Word is not just a sound or a written symbol, it is a force and is the most powerful tool you have as a human; it is the tool of magic.”
2. Don’t Take Anything Personally: “Nothing other people do is because of you. It is because of themselves. If someone gives you a negative opinion, don’t take it personally, because the truth is that this person is dealing with his or her own feelings, beliefs and opinions. All people live in their own dream, in their own mind; they are in a completely different world from the one we live in.”
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3. Don’t Make Assumptions: “The problem with making assumptions is that we believe they are the truth. We make an assumption, we misunderstand, we take it personally, and we end up creating a whole big drama for nothing. All the sadness and drama you have lived in your life was rooted in making assumptions and taking things personally.”
4. Always Do Your Best: Ruiz leaves the best to last in this chapter, chapters on The Toltec Path to Freedom and “The New Dream.” Throughout the three ending chapters we read these provocative and sometimes powerful quotes: “When you always do your best, you take action. Doing your best is taking the action because you love it, not because you’re expecting a reward. If we like what we do, if we always do our best, then we are really enjoying life. You do your best because you want to do it, not because you have to do it, not because you are trying to please other people. Taking action is being alive. It’s taking the risk to go out and express your dream and letting go of the past and living in the present moment. You were born with the right to be happy. You were born with the right to love, to enjoy and to share your love. You express your own divinity by being alive and by loving yourself and others.”
The Toltec Path To Freedom: “The Toltecs teach us that the reward is to transcend the human experience of suffering, to become the embodiment of God. That is the reward. We have memories of long ago, when we used to be free and we loved being free, but we have forgotten what freedom really means. As children we are not afraid of the future or ashamed of the past. Our normal human tendency is to enjoy life, to play, to explore, to be happy, and to love. Sometimes that little child comes out when you are having fun or playing, when you feel happy, when you are painting, or writing poetry, or playing the piano, or expressing yourself in some way. Your life is a manifestation of your dream; it is an art. The first step toward personal freedom is awareness. We need to be aware of what the problem is in order to solve the problem.”
The New Dream: “I want you to forget everything you have learned in your whole life. This is the beginning of a new understanding, a new dream. You have the power to create hell, and you have the power to create heaven. Why not use your mind, your imagination, and your emotions to dream heaven?” Ruiz goes on to explain his own definitions of heaven and hell.
And since this is at the end of his book, it’s a good place for us to stop as well. Reading this book was, for me, like learning the catechisms in Sunday School as a youngster, only these Toltec teachings are not for toddlers, but for all of us as we age and as important Native American wisdom is being offered to us, now, during these critical times for humans here on this planet.
(Thomas Rain Crowe is an internationally-published and recognized author of more than 30 books, including the multi-award winning nonfiction nature memoir “Zoro’s Field: My Life in the Appalachian Woods.”)
