The 4 Agreements & Daily Practice

#Balance

Published by Acrimonious Paradise on June 22nd, 2021

The worst thing in the world is to believe that because you have not succeeded you have failed. Your life has so many choices that you make daily that ultimately lead you to a certain pathway or reality of life. Take control of that power, never let other people's definition of what life is impact the reality of life you choose to live.

The four agreements is a modernized guide created by the remarkable Don Miguel Ruiz. This globally loved book has probably already crossed your path, this is a book I highly recommend. But I also know that sometimes people need a different form of the same concept so that they can better understand a concept.

My absolute favorite thing in the world is to draw real life applications from the things that i learned; how useful can information be if it's not something i use often? These four agreements that you make with yourself will undoubtedly change your perspective on life when you start incorporating them into your lifestyle. This is an amazing start for any one no matter how far along you are on your spiritual journey .

1.BE IMPECCABLE WITH YOUR WORD

To be impeccable means to be without sin. But what is a sin? If you practice organized religion, you probably already know what you consider to be a sin. You have a book of guidelines that tells you what is and what isn't okay.

I find there to be a lot of grey in the world that religion does not cover, circumstances, exceptions a less than modern textbook to a certain way of life. There isn't a true distinction between religion and spirituality. Religion is a way of life followed by groups of people who identify in the same way, they are Christians, Buddhidt, ect. But spirituality is a religion with no labels, a way of life each individual gets to choose for themselves.

There is no right way to life. A lot of people find this difficult to understand that the way they live is not going to be the best way for everyone else in the world, in your school, at your job. We are individual beings and you get to decide what you think a sin is. For person A a sin could be having sexual intercourse of wedlock, for person B it could be Littering, person C finds eating pork a sin, I could go on and on but i think you get the point.

A sin is anything you do that goes against yourself, identify what feels blatantly wrong to you and don't do it. Easy way to see if you are going against yourself is if it makes you start to judge other people or make assumptions about them because you will know you are not at peace, there is something going on with you that needs to be addressed personally. Work on yourself so that you aren't transforming more negative energy into the world.

Honor your commits and make sure you only make commitments you can actually keep. No is always a good enough answer and it will make you feel so much better when you are clear about your intentions not only for other people but for your inner self as well. Do not use your words to guilt, to shame, to criticize, or gossip.

Words are used to express your honest thoughts and to truly communicate with other people, when you use your word to do these things you are going against and being untrue to yourself. Identify what you are truly feeling and why you were using your words to lash out at other people. A truly enlightened person will communicate without judgment or assumption, so make sure you check yourself when you are acting less than the spiritual being you are.

2.DON'T TAKE ANYTHING PERSONALLY

Whatever happens you cannot take what other people say or do personally; even if it's directed at you. I know first hand how difficult it can be to ignore other people when they are 100% talking about you. It can seem almost impossible when other people's actions do impact you in some way.

Nothing other people do or say is really about you; it's truly their inner self screaming at them. But because they don't even know that inner self they will take it out on you in their confusion.

Think about the last time you were gossiping, because at some point in our lives we have all done this regardless of how amazing you think you or someone else is. When you were gossiping about this person do you even know why you wanted to talk about them?

Was it because of something they were wearing or something they did , something that stirred up a passionate emotion in you. It must have otherwise you wouldn't want to talk about it. What emotion did that bring up? Where is that emotion coming from, why do you feel so dispositioned to think this way?

Instead of just gossiping about what you think you want to say, take the time to identify the problems within yourself and fix them so that you can truly have a handle on your emotions.

Never base the opinion you hold about yourself by how other people treat you. When you become immune to the words and actions of others, you will no longer be a victim of needless suffering.

3.DON'T MAKE ASSUMPTIONS

Assumptions make an ass out of you and me. There is a reason why some sayings never die and that's because there is so much truth to them. Have you ever just assumed something and just felt dumb asf when you find out what actual was happening?

This happen to me alot especially ever since i've been taking time daily to really think before speaking, sometimes my mouth is faster than my brain and i make assumptions out loud before i can catch myself and it's very embarrassing.

Almost as embarrassing it is when people make assumptions about me and somehow would like me to disprove their assumptions to make them feel more comfortable around me. Weird, right? I have a feeling a lot of you will know exactly what im talking about.

When we make assumptions about what others are doing or thinking we take it personally; then we blame them and react by sending them emotional poison. When you assume you misunderstand and create problems for both yourself and others.

To stop yourself from making assumptions ask questions, make sure you communicate clearly so that you don't have to assume you can know. Also please don't be an asshole you are not entitled information from other people in any way shape or form.

4.ALWAYS DO YOUR BEST

Don't live life half assed. SOmewhere along the lines it became cool or trendy not to give a banana, this is how people with a very bitter outlook on life take control. If everything sucks , you can no longer be surprised by anything negative life throws your way.

You put yourself into this little box of misery and will slowly bring you into depression. Before starting my journey this was my way of life. I was so tired of being hit in the face with negativity that I had no control over. It was easier to just expect the worse and when it was not the worse it was like a nice surprise.

You take the fun out of life when you take it too seriously but you also lose the purpose of life if you don't try. Always do your best no more or less is expected of you. Keep in mind what your best looks like changes all the time depending on how you feel, your physical abilities, mental abilities, ect.

Things change all the time literally every second of every day so I choose to focus my energy on continual improvement of myself because there is no such thing as an evolved person having a peak.