The Four Agreements and the follow-up book, The Fifth Agreement by Don Miguel Ruiz and Don Jose Ruiz is probably one of the most familiar contemporary New Thought books read today. Many of the ‘agreements’ are frequently quoted in articles and talks when describing attributes to follow for a fulfilling life.
But, have you ever heard that the five Toltec agreements parallel the five principles of Unity? Rev. Temple Hayes explains the similarities in the following excerpts from the May/June Unity Magazine.
Give Me Five: How the Five Principles of Unity Parallel the Five Toltec Agreements
~ Rev. Temple Hayes
NOTE: Part two of a five-part series of select excerpts from the May/June Unity Magazine article.
Second Principle / Third Agreement
The second Unity principle:
We are spiritual beings, created in God’s image. The spirit of God lives within each person; therefore, all people are inherently good.
… goes along with the third agreement:
Don’t make assumptions.
We don’t come into a faith community and say, “I think I’ll get on a spiritual path”. We are spiritual. We have always been spiritual. As Religious Science movement founder Ernest Holmes said, there is nothing more spiritual than a ham sandwich. Everything is spiritual, and we are spiritual beings immersed by spiritual law that is always in effect. We will never be separate.
Because we are connected to this infinite power, we get what we bring. If we come from a spirit of giving, we get that back. If we come from a spirit of taking, we get that back. If we come from a spirit of doubt or a space of being overly cautious, we will attract overly cautious, doubtful people in our lives.
So often we think that we don’t make assumptions, but in reality we do. When we believe that those assumptions are true, we create what Ruiz calls “emotional poison”. This poison is especially potent when we make assumptions about what God is or isn’t going to do for us.
For example, a woman once told me she was going to have eye problems because her mother had eye problems. I asked her if she had problems now. No, she told me, she didn’t but she was sure she would. We all make assumptions about what is or what is not possible for us. We need to examine those assumptions or we limit what’s possible.
I’ve been sober for more than 20 years. During this time, I’ve heard a lot of assumptions from people struggling with additions — almost always about how hard the struggle is. However, there is no struggle when you are in harmony with the laws of nature and with the truth of what you believe. Struggle is an assumption, while freedom is an action. When I want to be free, I let go of struggle. I attended every one of my Unity church’s events for two years. I cam every Sunday, and I came to everything else they had because I knew an idea for me existed that could be greater than any assumption I had ever held in my life.
If you missed Part One of this series, you can read it here
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