Prerogative: an exclusive or special right, power, or privilege. It is within our power to be positive and life the life we choose.

The Four Agreements by don Miguel Ruiz offers four simple tools, agreements you make with yourself to more easily create the life you choose.

1st agreement: Be Impeccable with Your Word
Impeccable comes from the Latin root words: “Im,” which means without, and “peccable,” which means sin or error. To be “Impeccable” means to be aligned with the absolute Truth. Unfortunately, many of the words we use about ourselves and others are not impeccable – not related to absolute Truth but to what Ruiz calls the planetary dream or to agreements we have made with ourselves or others, a dream that is flawed and limited in nature.

The words of others can steal our joy, cloud our vision of Light in them and ourselves. Our own words can do the same to others. Additionally, by allowing our inner judge to use such words, we do it to ourselves. Our words become our experience. Complaining attracts more things to complain about, where thoughts and words of gratitude attract more things to be grateful for.

Philippians 4:8”… whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about[b] these things.”

Humans judge themselves over & over for the same thing. We made a mistake. We didn’t live up to someone else’s or our own expectations. We take the blame, and we attempt to forgive ourselves. Still, every time a similar situation occurs and reminds us of our error, we go there again. Our inner judge uses thoughts and words that assume that we are simply bad at whatever it was – we should never try again.

There is great power in our words: in our, I Am statements, in how we speak to ourselves, to one another, about one another, and the way we fill in the blanks in conversations. Take time to make sure the words that come out of your mouth match the intention of your Heart and Mind. Give up words that judge, that hurt, or that reflect anything other than your Light.

2nd Agreement: Don’t Take Anything Personally
Nothing that anyone says to you or about you is actually about you. It’s about them. Everyone is continuously creating their own experience with thoughts and words. You are simply a mirror in their dream; they may or may not see the REAL you. You may or may not see the REAL them. What is REAL is that you are both Light. Anything other than that is not really the Truth of you. If they say something that offends you, it’s about them, about their experience, about what they see in the mirror at this moment.

We get addicted to what other people think or say about us because we’ve been taught to seek approval from the moment we are born. And when someone says something we don’t like, we spend a lot of time trying to figure out what we could have done, could have said, to be rewarded. But this has nothing to do with the Truth of us.

Ruiz says if someone tells me I’m awful, I don’t believe it. If someone tells me I’m wonderful, I don’t take that personally either – it’s about them and their experience of me in that moment. It’s not me …

Jesus: Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. Mark 10:18 & Luke 18:19

On March 21st we will explore the next two agreements.

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