What I will now share with you is my interpretation of don Miguel Ruiz’s interpretation of the truth – which is perhaps the main and underlying topic of the entire book of Toltec Wisdom.

Don Miguel states that life’s creation is the truth. Objects of our perception are the truth. Our interpretation of them is a reflection of the truth. A chair just is. The image of light that is reflected off the chair and perceived through our eyes and brain is a reflection of the chair, of the truth. We then make an interpretation, we use language to assign it a name “chair” and then we might also attach our opinions about the chair. It’s a beautiful or ugly chair, a big or small chair.

Of course in the example of the chair, this may have minimal impact on our lives. Yet when we multiply our interpretations across every object and concept, when we apply interpretations of right, wrong, good, or bad to ourselves, to others, to religions, to nations, you can imagine the amount of distortion that we humans create. Especially if we believe that the way we see the chair (or ourselves or others) is the right way, the only way, or the same way as everyone else.

So that brings us to Be skeptical. We can use the power of doubt to learn to look beyond the way our mind, our program, or our domestication has instructed us to interpret the world. We no longer need to believe that our thoughts and stories are true. When we judge ourselves, when we criticize the way we look, when we feel we fall short of the way we “should” be, we can choose not to believe our interpretations.

Instead we can turn inward to our authentic hearts. We can challenge ourselves to see beyond our mind and its ability to name and categorize everything to the essence of ourselves. We can learn to connect to the force of Life itself and perceive our connection to it and to all living creatures. Can you imagine the freedom that can bring?

Which brings us to Learn to Listen. As we learn to see our intrepretation of life as a virtual reality, a reflection of the truth, we can learn to listen, to hunt for the meaning behind the words. Is it true what we hear within our heads? Is it true what others say about us? We can learn to listen to what is true for ourselves, to listen to our hearts. When we understand that each of us are using symbols – language – to express ourselves. We can be skeptical of the words but willing to listen. We might just connect to ourselves and to each other in a way transcends the words. Can you imagine the possibilities?

Each of us is an artist. How do we want to express our perceptions? How do we want to interpret our experiences in life? We can choose to express ourselves in ways that make us sad and bring suffering, or we can choose to express ourselves in ways that make us happy and bring us pleasure. We are here to enjoy life. Why not make it a work of art?

Ultimately, our presence is the message. What message are you delivering? What message do you share with yourself and those around you? With awareness, you have the freedom to be the real you. You have the power to make your life hell or a work of heavenly art.

I have practiced being skeptical and listening for many years now. Each day when I awake, I do my best to create a living work of art. I turn inward daily to connect to my heart, my true nature, my connection to all of Life. I am so grateful for don Miguel, who opened my eyes to the truth, and who has the courage and eloquence to craft into words an energy and experience that is truly indescribable. He is a true artist and an inspiration. I invite you to join him, to join me, in the journey of letting go of your interpretations and experiencing pure perception, of finding ways to express your interpretation authentically.

Don Miguel closes The Fifth Agreement by asking us to help change the world. Each of us lives within our own world, within the perceptions and interpretations within our minds, within our own unique physical body. When we take responsibility for living our life as a great work of art, with great joy and happiness, we can change the greater world as our happiness, peace and joy radiate out from us. Won’t you join us?

 Buy The Fifth Agreement: A Practical Guide to Self-Mastery

… For those of you who have not had the pleasure (or need a refresher) of the first Four Agreements, here they are, which a little glimpse of don Miguel’s new twist in The Fifth Agreement:

1. Be Impeccable with Your Word: The Story of You
2. Don’t Take Anything Personally: Every Mind if a World
3. Don’t Make Assumptions: Truth or Fiction
4. Always Do Your Best: Practice Makes the Master       

From the book The Fifth Agreement © 2010, don Miguel Ruiz, Don Jose Ruiz, Janet Mills.  Reprinted by permission of Amber-Allen Publishing, Inc. P.O. Box 6657, San Rafael, CA 94903. All rights reserved.

Be Skeptical, But Learn to Listen.

The Fifth Agreement, don Miguel Ruiz

Learn more about The Fifth Agreement by don Miguel Ruiz.

Buy The Fifth Agreement: A Practical Guide to Self-Mastery

Transformation through Reflection

The desire for transformation is evident as so many changes are upon us both inside & out. Our inner knowing tells us it is time but how do we do it?
In these wisdom groups we will explore tools of transformation that will bridge the gap of our desire to ‘break on through to the other side!’
We will use The Voice of Knowledge by don Miguel Ruiz , author of the best selling The Four Agreements, as our study guide.
Cost: Suggested donation $15.00/class. The class is open to new participants.

Grace Ventura Sardonicus, creator of EmBodyDream™, brings a wealth of wisdom as a healer and guide to transcend patterns that stifle vitality, joy and wellness. EmBodyDream™ offers the opportunity to nurture your self on a new level through group programs and one-on-one sessions in Health Counseling & Massage Therapy. Visit our website at http://www.embodydreamprograms.com/about.html

For more info please contact Grace at graceventura1@gmail.com or call 603-651-9642

When we awaken and have the courage to see our lives and everything that we have created, we can reclaim our power as the creator. As self-realized creators we can take responsibility for our creation, the same way that an artist can create a new work of art. This new creation begins with honesty and by looking closely at the beliefs we have about ourselves. Once we do this, we begin to notice that the words we use silently within our own mind are the most powerful words of all, for it is with these words that we manifest everything.

Recovering the authentic self is a process of unlearning the beliefs and habits that define who we think we are in order to become who we truly are. The authentic self creates from our true feelings, and our feelings are the basis of our integrity. To live from our integrity is to know that we are choosing the beliefs we will create from, and we use the emotions as the barometer for this choice. Our emotions are the messages from the authentic self. They are ever present and always speaking to us, but we interpret our emotions through our beliefs and often judge and reject them.

When we become aware, we can see that every thought and belief has an emotional response. If we find our emotions to be uncomfortable or out of balance, we simply need to look at what we believe about ourselves in order to bring our emotions into a new light. There is no such thing as a negative emotion; it is only our judgments about the emotion that causes a negative reaction. We can learn to master our emotions by mastering our thoughts and words so that we can arrive at a newfound respect for the emotional body. Mastering new words of self-love will allow the emotional body to feel wonderful!

It is your true nature to express from love because you are Love. When you learn how to do this, you become the creator of a masterpiece; you become a master of choice. When you live this truth, every action will only produce happiness, abundance and the absolute fulfillment of who you are.

A synthesis of ancient shamanic healing and modern technique based in Toltec Wisdom, form the heart of the teachings of Rita Rivera. Through powerful energetic healing principles she creates the environment for personal transformation and continually empowers and uplifts the spirit to facilitate the expression of the authentic self. As one of don Miguel Ruiz’s (author o The Four Agreements) original apprentices she has worked closely with him for over 10 years co-facilitating workshops and Power Journeys throughout the world, in service to actualizing the love that is our human essence.

“Belief colors every experience and determines how we react
in any situation, yet we are often unaware of the hidden beliefs that guide
us.” Ray Dodd from The Power of Belief

Since embracing this wisdom, I hunt for beliefs on every
level—those that I am aware of and those I am not, those that support my life
and those that limit it, those that are supported by society and those that
emanate from me personally.

It is a game I play in re-creating myself—expose the belief
through listening to my thoughts, and not necessarily believing them; observing my behavior, owning my present
creation, paying attention to what I say and the energy behind my words.
Hunting beliefs is a doorway to really knowing myself

So when my physical trainer recommended that I complete a
10-day Master cleanse fast, I thought, oh another opportunity to find out
something more about me. From my
immediate internal reaction which was’ I can’t do that. I will die” though I
spoke “ I will have to think about it.” I could see that I had a lot of belief
uncovering ahead of me to maintain my integrity.

I found that I believed that I would be sick, nauseous,
weak, fuzzy brained, unable to drive, unable to think, unable to work, that
fasting worked for others and not for me, Wow! No wonder I never fasted.

Then like everything else I made a “big deal” of in the
past, the fantasies attached to beliefs based in the fear of the unknown and
not good enough, I decided to create this experience of the Master Cleanse
Fast—one day—one hour at a time. The Master Cleanse is a combination of lemon
juice, filtered water, cayenne pepper and grade “B” Maple Syrup. Surprisingly, not as yucky as it sounds. As
the days passed maintaining the fast brought powerful, though diverse feelings
and physical experiences. Not only was I “fuzzy brained” at times, I had
clarity of vision and hearing beyond my typical experiences. Not only did I feel hunger in my belly; I
also felt relief about not cooking and eating and choosing what and where to
eat. Life became simpler and each day brought color filled and unusual
experiences. The myths about what would happen to me disappeared, and life in
the present moment took on expanded meaning.

Now that I have returned to eating, I much more mindful of
my choices, and am grateful for any food that is provided. I trust that food
exists for health and pleasure– a shift in attitude. Food is not life, and
lack of food is not death. Wow! What
energy I gave away to food, or no food.
All that energy has returned to me. The energy to create beyond
self-limiting beliefs, self-doubt and limitation is an energy I have decided to
invite into my life. This fast has been an invitation to a new consciousness.

I invite you to embrace the courage to bust a long held
belief that you would choose to give up if you believed you could… and watch what happens. Your comments and
personal insights are welcome

Yesterday was one of those days for me. By mid-afternoon, I was cranky. Cranky over interruptions from people I love. Cranky from having to deal with minor problems. Cranky from not making the time to work on a project that I passionately, purposefully believe in.

As the crank developed into a funk, I watched my mind start to question everything currently happening in my life. “What you are meant to be doing? Why aren’t you making the time to work on what matters to you? Why aren’t you living your life in the way you envisioned?”

I felt all the judgment soar to the surface of my consciousness. Judging other people for taking up precious time, judging myself for not doing what I “should” be doing, judging the projects that have to get done but aren’t necessarily what makes my heart sing.

The mental wheels churned, creating a fog. I hardly noticed my husband, my son, the flowers that have poked through the ground within the last 24 hours. I chomped on the “Why aren’t you…?” and “What should you….?” questions for hours.

Then I had an epiphany. What if I stopped debating with myself over what I should or should not be doing? What if I stopped having a judgment that one project was better than another? What if I stopped asking the “why’s” and the “what’s” and started asking “How?”

How do you want to interact with others?
How do you want to feel when you work on this project (or are with someone you love)?
How can you be compassionate, kind, and happy?

This shifted me into The Moment of How. We’ve all heard about “the moment of now” or about “living in the moment.” I’ve heard it so often that it’s lost its meaning to me. Yet when I shifted into The Moment of How – How do I want to feel? How do I want to be? I returned to the present. I remembered that it’s not the destination, it’s the journey. I felt a sense of spaciousness. I could take a deep breath.

All of us have ideas about what we think we should be doing in life. Should I be working at this job or that one? Should I be with this person or be by myself? Should I live here or there? We are constantly judging and comparing our present experience with our concept of our ideal life. Yet how often do we let go of the concept and accept what is present in the moment? How often to we focus on the emotional quality present in all our interactions and doings?

And that lead me into a place of mastery. When I live in The Moment of How, embodying peace, purpose, and passion in each moment, it really doesn’t matter what I am doing. I am fulfilling my Life’s Purpose, which is to be that un-nameable force that permeates everything. My Purpose in Life is not to have a job, or live a certain lifestyle, or play the role of businesswoman, friend, wife, or mother. Life was giving me, just like it gives all of us, another chance to be this truth. Just be. In this space, I am flexible, fluid, open, whole. I am breathing. I am aware. I just am.

And so I relax and let go. From this place I can create in any direction. I can play any role. I can allow Life to flow through me, trusting that all will be taken care of. I remember that there is enough – enough time, enough money, enough resources. I pause and smile and offer thanks. To one small word, “how.”