The Fifth Agreement - A Powerful New Agreement from don Miguel Ruiz

The Fifth Agreement – What is it? Miguel Ruiz, bestselling author of The Four Agreements has not come out with another Agreement, perhaps the most powerful agreement of all, The Fifth Agreement I first met don Miguel, in the late ninety’s. I had been walking the Toltec Path and studying Toltec Wisdom for some time. In 1995 I created one of the first Forums on the web dedicated to Toltec knowledge known as The Toltec Nagual. One morning I was browsing the classifieds in a local Los Angeles new age newspaper. A little ad caught my eye with the words, ‘be part of don Miguel Ruiz, a Toltec Nagual and find out about Toltec Wisdom. I asked my wife Kalyn if she wanted to go, she said, 'of course!' and off we went. The time spent with don Miguel was invariably very personal and provoking . He would visit personal homes in Los Angeles and in San Diego where he lived, and discuss things Toltec. This was before he was a well known author. He was continually open, warm and exuded love. Throughout his talks he would often say, “Don’t believe me, don’t believe anyone else, don’t believe yourself.” They were powerful words, that don Miguel has currently labeled in his new book, The Fifth Agreement. Eliminating belief systems are one in all the core teachings of the Toltec Path. Whenever you have a belief, you cannot perceive what is. You see solely what Toltecs call, the smoky mirror. You see reality through coloured glasses. For instance, in Japan the number four symbolizes death. The word ‘shi’, that means four in Japanese sounds just like the word death, ‘shinu’ in Japanese. Due to this belief, they eliminate the fourth floor in their buildings. Correspondingly, the number 13 is typically considered unlucky in western cultures, and the thirteenth floor is manytimes eliminated from buildings. Relying on their beliefs, every culture perceives things differently. Another quick example - in the west, suicide is thought to have dire consequences within the afterlife. This is thanks to the prevalence of Christian beliefs regarding heaven and hell. In Japan, on the other hand, the Samurai thought of suicide as honorable. If defeated, a warrior thought of it an honor to be in a position to commit suicide. To this day, suicide is perceived very differently in Japan than it is in the West. Why is that this necessary on a spiritual path? It is vital in order to determine the truth, to see reality clearly and unbiased, one must be free of belief systems. To grow and evolve, one should transform the way they see themselves and the world. Toltecs diligently eliminate all belief systems. In order to understand reality and beyond into what Toltecs call the second attention, the world of energy, they try to eliminate all inventory. This is often a lot of like seeing creation through the eyes of a young child, or what Buddhists call ‘The Beginners Mind’. It's simple to see how things like racial prejudice and discrimination are primarily based on belief systems. If one believes that a race of people are inferior, they will actually see things that validate their beliefs. They see the planet through lenses coloured by their beliefs. One of don Miguel Ruiz’s dreams is to raise the planet to a higher place. To do so, we must begin by transforming our personal dreams. We become clear, free from stale knowledge and beliefs that bind us. This is the essence of the Fifth Agreement.