The Fifth Agreement
A Practical Guide to Self-Mastery
The Journey Continues
When I became aware of a “fifth agreement”, I won’t lie, I had thoughts swirling around in my head ranging from excitement to dismissal. I was excited because I have deeply connected with the author’s previous work in The Four Agreements – so much that I read it a third time as a part of this book-a-week challenge. At the same time, I had a different “story” come to mind, except this time, it was the skeptic! Was the author just capitalizing on his popularity and expanding his brand? Why had the author held out on what would appear to be essential wisdom during the first book? Was this new insight? If so, in some ways it bears less credibility from the original four agreements as they were touted as ancient wisdom passed down through oral tradition from generation to generation… what would give the author the right to "amend" such honored wisdom with his personal point of view?
Regardless of the stories I was telling myself, curiosity along with faith in the author’s integrity overcame my skepticism. Thankfully, the absence of its inclusion in the original work was quickly addressed in the opening pages.
A Deeper Understanding
Once I had the book in my possession, I quickly reviewed the contents, only to discover that the first four agreements appear to be a large portion of the text! Again, my internal skeptic was hard at work. Is the majority of this just fluff? Are the authors simply going to regurgitate a lot of the same information and then deliver a nugget of new wisdom in the final pages? Well, like many of the stories we tell ourselves, these didn’t matter and the only way to know the truth was to take action and read the book… and so I did.
What I discovered was that they indeed cover the first four agreements. In fact, they cover them so well that the book could be considered comprehensive. However, I find that the original work along with this newer work both have their merits and I would advise any reader to not skip over The Four Agreements. My recommendation would be to begin there. Further, I would also plan to take some time to integrate the wisdom and practices from within the book before picking up The Fifth Agreement.
In Search Of The Truth
Many lives have been devoted to the discovery of the truth – Some have sought it within ancient texts, while others have explored the world through the lens of science, and still others will argue that through the application of logic the truth can be derived. However, in The Fifth Agreement it is made evident that the truth is right in front of us, it always has been. Further, no pursuit of knowledge could ever discover the truth as knowledge is based on symbolism and results in a belief system. What we call knowledge is nothing more than a very sophisticated attempt to “describe” what we experience, but it isn’t the experience. Our lives are the truth. The world we interact with is the truth. On the other hand, any attempt to explain the truth through symbolism (words are symbols), is at minimum a mild perversion of the truth… and yes, my words fall short in explaining this truth.
A few of my favorite quotes from the book!
There’s the object of perception, which is the truth, and there’s our interpretation of the truth, which is just a point of view.Don Miguel Ruiz, Don Jose Ruiz : The Fifth Agreement
When we see the truth, we see everything just as it is, not the way we believe it is, not the way we wish it to be.Don Miguel Ruiz, Don Jose Ruiz : The Fifth Agreement
We create the story of our own life.Don Miguel Ruiz, Don Jose Ruiz : The Fifth Agreement
You, the human, are the truth. Your physical presence is real. What you believe about yourself, is not real, and it’s not important unless you want to create a better story for yourself.Don Miguel Ruiz, Don Jose Ruiz : The Fifth Agreement
Your happiness is up to you, and it depends on how you use the word.Don Miguel Ruiz, Don Jose Ruiz : The Fifth Agreement
Everything you perceive is being filtered through your entire belief system.Don Miguel Ruiz, Don Jose Ruiz : The Fifth Agreement
If you don’t like your life, if you don’t like what you believe about yourself, you are the only one who can change it.Don Miguel Ruiz, Don Jose Ruiz : The Fifth Agreement
All the acting you did your whole life was really for nothing because nobody perceives you the way you want to be perceived.Don Miguel Ruiz, Don Jose Ruiz : The Fifth Agreement
Nothing others say or do is about you.Don Miguel Ruiz, Don Jose Ruiz : The Fifth Agreement
The truth doesn’t need to prove itself; it exists whether we believe in it or not. Lies only exist if we create them, and they only survive if we believe in them.Don Miguel Ruiz, Don Jose Ruiz : The Fifth Agreement
If not taking anything personally gives you immunity in the interaction that you have with other people, then not making assumptions gives you immunity in the interaction that you have with yourself.Don Miguel Ruiz, Don Jose Ruiz : The Fifth Agreement
If we don’t make assumptions, we can focus our attention on the truth, not on what we think is the truth. Then we see life the way it is, not the way we want to see it.Don Miguel Ruiz, Don Jose Ruiz : The Fifth Agreement
If you’re asking yourself why you’re so miserable at times, it’s because you’re telling yourself a story that isn’t true, but you believe it.Don Miguel Ruiz, Don Jose Ruiz : The Fifth Agreement
The truth doesn’t need you to believe it; the truth simply is, and it survives whether you believe it or not. Lies need you to believe them. If you don’t believe lies, they don’t survive your skepticism, and they simply disappear.Don Miguel Ruiz, Don Jose Ruiz : The Fifth Agreement
The truth doesn’t come with words. The truth is silent. It’s something that you just know.Don Miguel Ruiz, Don Jose Ruiz : The Fifth Agreement
You are not here to sacrifice yourself for anybody. You are not here to satisfy other people’s opinions or points of view.Don Miguel Ruiz, Don Jose Ruiz : The Fifth Agreement
It’s much easier to be yourself than to try to be what you are not.Don Miguel Ruiz, Don Jose Ruiz : The Fifth Agreement
Take the action, but don’t try anymore. If you try, you will die trying.Don Miguel Ruiz, Don Jose Ruiz : The Fifth Agreement
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