Many of us have appreciated the four agreements brought to us by don Miguel Ruiz. For many years they have assisted us in altering old behavior patterns that no longer serve our lives. Briefly they are: do not take things personally, stop making assumptions, be impeccable with your words, and do your best. There is a fifth agreement added to these four, which is to be skeptical but learn to listen. These are not commandments, vows, sacred laws, or pious promises. They are agreements that we can choose to practice each day. Now, don Miguel takes us more deeply than ever. After suffering a near-fatal heart attack that left him in a coma for nine weeks during which time he traveled in a dream state between life and death, he shares with us his discoveries, which are again steeped in Toltec philosophy and wisdom. In this dialogue he describes the mind as a predator, hungry for anger, fear, or guilt, and goes on to share how our love is based on certain conditions. "What rules the dream of humans is conditional love, which is exactly the opposite of the real love. I can say the real love is the word. Conditional love is the fall of the word. When we learn to love with conditions, we love if we can control [others]. And, that's the way they love us. They love us if they can control us. This is how we learn to love. But the worst part is that we learn to love ourselves with conditions." (hosted by Justine Willis Toms)
