The Four Agreements: Chapter 6
As I re-read the chapter there were several things that I found important:
- While we think we are free, we aren't really as long as we are bound by our fears, a byproduct of the domestication process. - Freedom is honoring and embracing that little child inside us, who appears when we're having fun, playing, or doing anything that makes us happy. Freedom is being and expressing ourselves.
- Nobody is to blame for this. Everyone has done their best with what they knew, including us!
- The first step, as is always true, is the Mastery of Awareness. This awareness allows us to see who we really are with all our possibilities. Once aware, you can make a decision to continue or change. This decision to change causes us to become warriors against all that attempts to destroy our future.
- The second step is the Mastery of Transformation. This the ways we will change, to become free.
- The third step is the Mastery of Intent. This is the energy that allows us to change.
- The Judge, the Victim, and the belief system are like a 1000-headed parasite, each one a fear within us, which slowly sucks energy and dreams (our future) from us, giving nothing useful in return.
- We can destroy the parasite by (listed in order of difficulty):
- (a) attacking each fear one at a time by practicing the 4 agreements: (a) Be impeccable with your word, (b) Don't take anything personally, (c) Don't make assumptions, (d) Always do your best.
- (b) starving it by gaining control over our emotions and disciplining our own behavior. Forgive everyone with whom you have an emotional reaction, out of compassion for ourselves. This destroys our denial system, so we can't lie to ourselves and instead develop a healthy self. Learn how to hold emotions and express them at the right moment, not sooner or later.
- (c) killing it all at once. We never know when we're going to die and we can choose to make each moment happy one. Treat everyone around you the way you would if you knew it was going to be the last day of your life (it may!). By doing this you rewrite your life, killing the old dream as well as the parasite.
- By having the freedom of the child along with wisdom, instead of innocence, we break our domestication and become free again!
For example, if I had an ingrained negative attitude or a deep hurt I found that attacking each one and reviewing my list of morals, ethics, principles etc. really helped to re-frame my perspective.
Appreciate help. You came up first on search for "catholic four agreements"!
There are some things in the Four Agreements which could be a problem, especially in the realms of prayer, love, heaven, hell and suffering. The author treats these areas as less owned by God than by mankind. The prayers tend to be a bit non-specific as to who you are praying to, the concepts of heaven, hell and love are treated as if they are products of our own perception. And suffering is portrayed as a mistake in perception.
All that being said, I am a practicing Catholic and I find great value in the book. Just stay true to your faith, take the great reminders the book offers and discard the rest.