Psychology

The Four Agreements is a life changing book whose major ideas come from the ancient Toltec wisdom of the local of Southern Mexico. Toltec refers to the people of knowledge who created an environment to preserve and discover the traditional spiritual practices of their predecessors. They also observe spirit and science as parts of same entity, considering that all energy either ethereal or material came from the universe. The author of this book( Don Miguel Ruiz) primarily focused on this concept since he is raised and born in Mexico where his family follows the Toltecs way of living, his mother was a Toltec faith healer and his grandfather is a Toltec nagual (shaman). Even though he is raised in this kind of culture, he decided to pursue a conventional education, which led him to practice several years of his profession as a surgeon. During his practice of profession, he found the simplicity of life following the emergence of his concept about The Four Agreements that gives an inspirational code for life, behavior, personal development, relationship and communication.

Four Agreements
The first argument that he mentions in his book is Be Impeccable With Your Word. The wide scope of this perception is to keep away from sin against yourself by what you think. Sins according to the author vary in many forms like gossiping, putting yourself down and putting anybody down because you do not agree with what they think. Words and actions require to be reliable as part of being impeccable with yourself. He primarily stress out the perception of others as a reflection of ourselves or commonly known as smoky mirror concept. Thus, to put other down or project pessimistic idea is to have energy towards another person.

The author implies in his first argument the concept of complete honesty that should be valued above else. Truth maybe hurtful to other but it should be acknowledged at all times because if it is true, it will always be correct. The art of continuing honesty without orally wounding others is a part of being a good individual, specifically in times when reality is needed to speak or to be silent. Thus, he further says that sometimes it is best to keep quiet when situation needs it.  

The second argument of Don Miguel Ruiz states Dont Take Anything Personally. There is a terrible negative energy in the environment and some of them maybe directed to us by other people. He describes his concept similar to play in a film where we are the protagonist, the producer, the director and other important roles in film, while everyone else around the film is only supportive character. What anybody thinks or says about us, is not really our problem. Thus, by not taking it personally allows us to be in a relationship with anyone. Furthermore, this agreement can also relate to things that we take personally that cause us to get distressed.

He goes to explain in his book When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you wont be the victim of needless suffering, (Ruiz, 1997, p. 56). This basically means that everything and anything a person says or does is a creation of their own reflection and nothing to do with others. Their actions and words are created primarily by their own opinion which has no genuine consequence on others.

Dont Make Assumptions, is the third agreement that the author tackles in his book. He suggests that people should be employed in real communication with high degree of honesty. If we do not understand and want to clarify something, we should ask questions until we truly understand the concept. Find the guts to solicit questions and communicate what we really want. Communication is the key to avoid misunderstanding, sadness, and drama. Thus, by combining the first two agreements lead to the third one that gives the intentions and needs to others without a fear to scorn or shame.

The last of the four agreements is, Always Do Your Best. Your best is important from moment to moment especially in showing the best of your ability. This thought gives the permission to be human and realize the best ability that should always be consistent. Thus he says, When you do your best, you dont give the judge the opportunity to find guilty or to blame (Ruiz, 1997, p. 80). A persons best largely depends on our current state of mind, health and finances. No one can say to one person what is good enough for him since each person has the right to decide for them.

Conclusion
The author primarily describes the four agreements with constant arguments about a persons path of personal freedom. These agreements keep us with integrity with our word. These help us to stop and reflect, the words in line should always be true to maintain good personal interpersonal skills. Furthermore, these can assist us to maintain a central core value that guides us to be a leader. These constantly remind us to reflect and renew ourselves as we grow and develop with new experiences.

The real purpose of this book is to offer useful guidelines for achieving our dream. Thus, reading the book has a potential to change our life (if you allow it).

However, it takes a willingness to dedicate us to the agreements that he mentions in this book. Therefore, the concept in the book is not easily forgotten and is easy to bear through the rigors of daily life and communication.