The Four Agreements, Don Miguel Ruiz

Your life is the manifestation of your dream; it is an art.

THE SMOKEY MIRROR
One day he slept in a cave, he dreamed that he saw his own body sleeping… This is what he discovered: Everything in existence is a manifestation of the one living being we call God. Everything is God. And he came to the conclusion that human perception is merely light perceiving light. He also saw that matter is a mirror – everything is a mirror that reflects light & creates images of that light – and the world of illusion, the Dream, is just like smoke which doesn’t allow us to see what we really are. “The real us is pure love, pure light,” he said…

And he realized that everyone was dreaming, but without awareness, without knowing what they really are. They couldn’t see him as themselves because there was a wall of fog or smoke between mirrors. And that wall of fog was made by the interpretation of images of light – the Dream of humans…

The dream of the planet is just a dream. It is not even real… To be Toltec is a way of life. It is a way of life where there are no leaders & no followers, where you have your own truth and live your own truth. A Toltec becomes wise, becomes wild, and becomes free again…

Imagine that you have permission to be happy & to really enjoy your life. Your life is free of conflict with yourself and others.

Imagine living your life without fear of expressing your dreams. You know what you want, what you don’t want, & when you want it. You are free to change your life the way you really want to. You are not afraid to ask for what you need, to say yes or no to anything or anyone.

Imagine living your life without fear of being judged by others. You no longer rule your behavior according to what others may think about you. You are no longer responsible for anyone’s opinion. You have no need to control anyone, and no one controls you, either.

Imagine living your life without judging others. You can easily forgive others & let go of any judgments that you have. You don’t have the need to be right, & you don’t need to make anyone else wrong. You respect yourself & everyone else, and they respect you in return.

Imagine living without fear of loving and not being loved. You are no longer afraid to be rejected and you don’t have the need to be accepted. You can say “I love you” with no shame or justification. You can walk in the world with your heart completely open and not be afraid to be hurt.

Imagine living your life without being afraid to take a risk & to explore life. You are not afraid to lose anything. You are not afraid to be alive in the world, and you are not afraid to die.

Imagine that you love yourself just the way you are. You love your body just the way it is, & you love your emotions just the way they are. You know that you are perfect just as you are… you can live in the state of grace, the state of bliss, the dream of heaven…

Only love has the ability to put you in that state of bliss. Being in bliss is like being in love. Being in love is like being in bliss. You are floating in the clouds. You are perceiving love wherever you go. It is entirely possible to live this way all the time.

PRAYER FOR FREEDOM
Today, Creator of the Universe, we ask that you come to us and share with us a strong communion of love. We know that your real name is Love, that to have a communion with you means to share the same vibration, the same frequency that you are, because you are the only thing that exists in the universe.

Today, help us to be like you are, to love life, to be life, to be love. Help us to love the way you love, with no conditions, no expectations, no obligations, without any judgment. Help us to love & accept ourselves without any judgment, because when we judge ourselves we find ourselves guilty and we need to be punished.

Help us to love everything you create unconditionally especially other human beings, especially those who live around us – all our relatives and people whom we try so hard to love. Because when we reject them, we reject you.

Help us to love others just the way they are with no conditions. Help us to accept them the way they are, without judgment, because if we judge them, we find them guilty, we blame them, and we have the need to punish them.

Today, clean our hearts of any emotional poison that we have, free our minds from any judgment so that we can live in complete peace and complete love.

Today is a very special day. Today we open our hearts to love again so that we can tell each other, “I love you,” without any fear, and really mean it. Today we offer ourselves to you. Come to us, use our voices, use our eyes, use our hands, and use our hearts to share ourselves in a communion of love with everyone. Today, Creator, help us to be just like you are. Thank you for everything that we receive this day, especially for the freedom to be who we really are.

THE FOUR AGREEMENTS
(1) Be Impeccable with your word: Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.

(2) Don’t take anything personally: Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.

(3) Don’t make assumptions: Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness, and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.

(4) Always do your best: Your best is going to change from moment to moment, it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret.

-Excerpts from The Four Agreements, by Don Miguel Ruiz

Winter Wondering


We need to cultivate a sense of mystery

…Not to be confused with an unsolved problem;
a mystery is by its nature mysterious
& will not collapse into a solution.
We are unfamiliar with that kind of thing.

-The Archaic Revival,

Terence McKenna

HAPPY CAMP, HAPPY CAMPER, HAPPY HARVEST

Back, again.
Telling stories excitedly to Ma & Pa as we
Put away for dinner. Winter.

This familiar garden, softening each time I pass.

The final harvest is saving kiwi from frost!
I meander the garden after our scuttle, before dark.
The sun’s last glow warms the air.
Soon the heat will fade. It is barely five o’clock.
Plucking tiny tomatillos –
Grapes left on a flaming orange-yellow vine,
that
Retreats. Into a cold night.
Wither and die.
Back to our unconscious.
Ever-returning.

You\'ve made your bed…

Now lie in it!


I am greeted by snow as my car crests the ridge.

Surprise!
For me – still stirring in the sensation of summer –
This prompts a shift.

I, bee humming along in the hive for a honey harvest.
The hustle demands our full attention.
Days slip by; I am obliged.
Here and now is my opportunity to allow.
Just sit. Ah, the monotony.

Patience presses in as we enter the Oracles of October & onward…
The day is shortening. Now it is November.
Hallow’s Eve hath past, that tricky dance with death
And one of the year’s Four Gates.


I am tired. Ready to surrender,
To season, simmer, settle,
Sautee, sea, weed,
To winter. Wanting to write,
Not finding a moment to myself.
Let me recap for you now,
What has happened & how!

She, late summer heat
September sows golden wheat
Virgin Bread Maker

I close my eyes – sweetness flickers – as it fades.
There,
There!
That tenderness,
Still resonating
Between us – oh love, I coo
Now, return!

blowing, sowing, saving seed
delightful deed: dead-heading a plant
expired fruit gets the boot

bring new blooms!

all coming down now soon,

I take such a delight in you!
This afternoon the sun & moon see-saw the same sky.
First half of a Harvest Moon cooly cruises
From over the southern ridge,
As the heat of day dissolves
Down the hill, with the sun – westward.


Trickling through like water,
Trees drop their fruit.
All in a set, the preserving bustle begins: a snack pack squirrel act!
Dehydrating, canning… Grape juice in the root cellar with sauce…
Garlic, onion, potato, pesto… and kiwi!
Always putting away, something to find next time
In the cold – snow, maybe.

Pond o’clock is dried up.
It’s now past sun setting; cool comes in with the shade.
When everyone has gone (to seed),

We MAKE THE BEDS! Compost
Coming by the barrow full.
Four inches of nutritive insulation
Tucks them in; massage the soil!

I am EMBEDDED in my loving labor.
My sheets are SOILED: full of the garden! As am I.
At home here:
Connected through basic rhythms coursing through
That is the universe.
We are stardust.