The Four Agreements -- Part 1

A co-worker of mine recently loaned me his copy of The Four Agreements, by Don Miguel Ruiz. Supposedly, Don Miguel is providing us with Wisdom from the Toltecs. Sounds a bit over the top, eh? Metaphysics isn't usually on my reading list (good, old fashioned escapism and trash is my typical fare).

But I'm finding the book quite interesting. According to Don Miguel, the Four Agreements that we should make with ourselves are:

Be impeccable with your word.
Don't take anything personally.
Don't make assumptions.
Always do your best.

Let's talk about the first Agreement, Be Impeccable With Your Word. Don Miguel says,

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.

My interpretation: Be honest with yourself and be honest with others. Be aware that what you say can affect someone else in a negative fashion. Speak truthfully; but also speak with kindness and consideration.

Obvious, eh? But actually hard to do. Because we do lie; to ourselves and to each other. We do it because we think we need to protect ourselves or someone else. I've thought about this a lot over the last week or so. I've identified some areas where I'm not being honest with myself about some of my own motivations for what I do, especially with regards to personal relationships. I definitely need to work on internal honesty! Maybe once I get that one covered, I can move onto being more honest externally. Not that I'm constantly trying to deceive anyone...but there are times...

Goals for 2008

I decided not to create any silly New Year's resolutions. I never keep them. But, I do have goals. I don't know why having goals seems easier to achieve than "resolutions." Some sort of weird self-deception, I suppose. It's the intention that's more important than the word, right?

...or is it?

In any case, here are the goals:

1. Create a will: The problem with being single and childless is I don't really know what to do with all my stuff. Sure, there are nieces and nephews, siblings and friends. But, do they really want all this junk? On the other hand, my cousin died a couple of years ago at a very young age and not having a will left his parents with a mess. I'd rather not leave a big mess behind me. So, a will must be done.
2. Start taking Yoga once a week: I need the excercise. I went to a couple of yoga classes with my friend A and discovered I really liked them. The yoga instructors tend to speak in this lovely, almost hypnotic manner. For a hour and half, I was able to shut off the endless chatter in my head. Ahh...
3. Focus on positive people in my life and walk away from those that cause pain. I've been re-evaluating the people in my life. There are new people who recently entered my life that have brought me much comfort and I want to nourish these new friendships. There are existing friends who delight me more and more as time goes by; I want to cherish and appreciate these relationships. And any relationships that seem to be terribly difficult to maintain -- well, I need to let go of these...friendships shouldn't erquire extraordinary measures to survive.
4. Continue to explore creativity. I've been taking classes in glass crafts and I plan to continue. As well as attend more art show openings and in general find ways to keep my "third eye" open.

Gadget links and musing about electronic book readers

I like electronic gadgets. Here are a couple of links that have some fun things:

http://gizmodo.com/
http://www.dvice.com/

I was recently thinking about getting a new electronic book reader. I was an early adopter of the Rocket eBook device, which I loved. But then, they were bought out and discontinued. Sony and Amazon have new devices, using e-Ink technology. Alas, the reviews aren't earthshaking and neither of these devices seem to be as good as the old Rocket.